Clarence William Dupnik (born January 11, 1936) is a retired

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of the government or other social institutions who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by investigating, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms gove ...

official. Dupnik was appointed Sheriff of

Pima County, Arizona Pima County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the south central region of the U.S. state of Arizona, one of 15 List of counties in Arizona, counties in the state. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 1 ...

, in February 1980 to fill a vacancy rising from the resignation of his predecessor, Richard Boykin. He won election in his own right in September 1980, and was re-elected every four years until he retired in 2015. Dupnik is a member of the Democratic party.

Life and career

Dupnik was born in

Helena, Texas Helena is a ghost town in Texas, approximately southeast of San Antonio in Karnes County. The seat of Karnes County from 1854 to 1894, Helena was once known as the self-proclaimed "toughest town on earth" in the mid-19th century. It was named ...

, and grew up in

Bisbee, Arizona Bisbee is a city in and the county seat of Cochise County, Arizona, Cochise County in southeastern Arizona, United States. It is southeast of Tucson, Arizona, Tucson and north of the Mexican border. According to the 2020 United States census, ...

. He attended the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

in Tucson. He graduated from

polygraph A polygraph, often incorrectly referred to as a lie detector test, is a pseudoscientific device or procedure that measures and records several physiological indicators such as blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and skin conductivity while a ...

training school Keeler Institute in Chicago, the Southern Police Institute at the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

, and the Urban Affairs Executive Institute at

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

. He joined the Tucson Police Department in 1958, as a Patrol Officer, eventually rising to Major in charge of Field Operations. In 1977 he was appointed Chief Deputy with the Pima County Sheriff's Department, and in 1980 he was appointed Sheriff. He was elected seven times to four-year terms as Sheriff. Because Pima County shares a border with

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, Dupnik's office handles a wide range of

illegal immigration Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of that country's immigration laws, or the continuous residence in a country without the legal right to do so. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upward, wi ...

Crewdson, John M. (July 10, 1980)
"14 Rescued in Desert Are Named; Victims May Not Be Identifiable"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''; accessed May 3, 2017. and

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matters.

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(April 22, 1989)
Mexican Suspect Held In Torture Deaths of 12
''The New York Times''; accessed May 3, 2017. He won the contest to name the

Tucson Toros The Tucson Toros were a professional baseball team based in Tucson, Arizona, in the United States. The original Toros were a Triple-A minor league baseball team in the Pacific Coast League from 1969 to 1997, where they won the PCL Championship in ...

baseball team.''Tucson Toros 1997 Media Guide''. Tucson: Tucson Toros Baseball Club, 1997. On June 22, 2011, Dupnik announced he would be dedicating about 20 officers to a task force to jail people for letting off fireworks on the 4th of July, to protect against sparking new wildfires.

Political views

Dupnik was a vocal opponent of Arizona's anti-illegal immigrant bill

SB 1070 The Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act (introduced as Arizona Senate Bill 1070 and commonly referred to as Arizona SB 1070) is a 2010 legislative act in the U.S. state of Arizona that was the broadest and strictest ant ...

. In April 2010, Dupnik criticized the law, calling it "racist", "disgusting", and "stupid". In September 2010, Dupnik criticized the

Tea Party movement The Tea Party movement was an American fiscally conservative political movement within the Republican Party that began in 2007, catapulted into the mainstream by Congressman Ron Paul's presidential campaign. The movement expanded in resp ...

at an immigration forum, publicly claiming the movement was associated with bigotry.

Killing of Jose Guerena

Dupnik received worldwide criticism over his defense of the botched SWAT team raid of Jose Guerena that left the former Marine dead. Dupnik openly stated that the raid was justified and told ''

Arizona Daily Star The ''Arizona Daily Star'' is an American daily newspaper based in Tucson, Arizona, and owned by Lee Enterprises. It serves Tucson and surrounding districts of Southern Arizona in the United States. History 1877–1925 L. C. Hughes was the ...

'' columnist Josh Brodesky that he may never release the search warrants and police affidavits. Dupnik defended the police who left Guerena, after being shot 60 times in 7 seconds, inside his house while paramedics were prevented from entering for over an hour.

2011 Tucson shooting

Dupnik's office was responsible for security and later oversaw local response and investigation of the

2011 Tucson shooting On January 8, 2011, United States Representative Gabby Giffords and 18 others were shot during a constituent meeting held in a supermarket parking lot in Casas Adobes, Arizona, in the Tucson metropolitan area. Six people were killed, inclu ...

. Dupnik stated that he felt that the level of vitriol in political discourse created an atmosphere where violence was likely. "It's not unusual for all public officials to get threats constantly, myself included. That's the sad thing about what's going on in America: pretty soon we're not going to be able to find reasonable, decent people willing to subject themselves to serve in public office."Hulse, Carl and Zernike, Kate (January 8, 2011)
Bloodshed Puts New Focus on Vitriol in Politics
''The New York Times''; accessed May 3, 2017. Conservatives criticized Dupnik's comments as misplaced and uninformed. In an interview with

Megyn Kelly Megyn Marie Kelly (; born November 18, 1970) is an American journalist, attorney, political commentator, and media personality. She currently hosts ''The Megyn Kelly Show'', a talk show and podcast that airs daily on Sirius XM's Triumph channe ...

, Dupnik stated that he had not seen evidence linking the shooting to discussions in the media, but believed the issue had to be raised.

References

External links

Clarence Dupnik profile
via Pima County Sheriff's Department {{DEFAULTSORT:Dupnik, Clarence 1936 births Living people People from Karnes County, Texas Arizona Democrats Arizona sheriffs Law enforcement officials from Arizona People from Bisbee, Arizona People from Tucson, Arizona American municipal police officers University of Arizona alumni University of Louisville alumni Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni People from Pima County, Arizona