However, for retiring Marshalltown Police Chief Mike Tupper, 55, his younger brother Jeff of Dubuque motivated him to pursue a career in law enforcement.

“Jeff was — and still is — a member of the Dubuque Police Department,” Tupper said in a recent telephone interview with the Times-Republican.

Now, after 32 years as a policeman — and 13 plus years as Marshalltown’s chief — Tupper’s last day, perhaps for a while in law enforcement, ended at 5 p.m. Friday.

That afternoon, he was the guest of honor at a reception sponsored by community leaders.

T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY — Tupper, left, accepted a Distinguished Service Award from Mayor Joel Greer, right, during Monday night’s city council meeting. Tupper spent a total of 32 years in law enforcement, including the last 13 plus years in Marshalltown.

Tupper said he had been attending the University of Dubuque in Dubuque when he qualified for placement on Ottumwa’s civil service list for police officers. He was hired in 1993.

“In the early 1990s, it was challenging to get a job in law enforcement,” Tupper said. “One had to apply in a number of communities.”

In Ottumwa, he worked his way up from patrolman to detective to sergeant. In 2004, Tupper was hired as Nevada’s chief of police. He held that position until 2011, when he was hired to take over the same position in Marshalltown.

Ever since, he has emphasized the practice that all MPD officers be actively engaged in local community projects and show respect to Marshalltown’s diverse populations. Consequently, it was common to see MPD officers co-managing blood drives, sponsoring efforts to collect canned food and packaged products for Marshalltown’s Emergency Food Box and serving as volunteers and board members for numerous not-for-profit organizations and civic groups.

Tupper served on the board of directors of Marshalltown’s House of Compassion – an entity providing a nightly free meal, supply closet and assistance for those seeking employment. He also served on the board of the YSS of Marshall County.

He also instituted the local “Coffee with a Cop” program where the public can talk with members of the MPD at local restaurants and coffee shops several times a year.

Early on in his tenure as local police chief, he and his colleagues recognized that the former MPD headquarters at 22 N. Center St. was woefully inadequate for efficient police work and the safety of crime victims and witnesses.

He and former Marshalltown Fire Chief David Rierson provided critical leadership to resolve the issue. They were joined by a group of citizens on an ad-hoc committee chaired by local attorney Paul Peglow. Their mission was to convince voters to approve a bond issue to build the current joint MPD/MFD complex – a state-of-the-art facility in the 900 block of South Second Street. The bond issue passed by a significant margin in 2016 after a police only bond issue had failed the year before.

Tupper also worked enthusiastically with the T-R to co-sponsor “Marshalltown Police Officer of the Year” – awarded annually to a deserving officer of all ranks after evaluation by a MPD committee, It was followed with the award presented by the T-R at a Marshalltown city council meeting during National Police Week.

“When Chief Tupper was hired to lead our agency in 2011, he brought a much-needed collaborative philosophy,” said new Marshalltown Police Chief Chris Jones in an email to the T-R. “His experience working within other communities taught him that if he was to be successful, he needed to garner public support. He began by working closely with local organizations and relaying our willingness to support local efforts to improve the quality of life here. He fostered an ardent desire to network with supporting area law enforcement agencies and help our department understand the value of working together to accomplish common goals. He has played a pivotal role in furthering the professionalism of our staff and has been steadfast in maintaining exact standards in the personnel we have hired and developed during the last 13 years. Our community’s positive support for local law enforcement is due to his hard work and continued dedication to the citizens of Marshalltown. He will be missed!”

Ryan Keller of YSS, who has worked closely with the chief on the implementation of the Marshalltown Police and Community Team (MPACT) program, identified another Tupper trait.

“Chief Tupper has always struck me as a leader who understands the importance of a balanced approach toward law enforcement and community,” said Keller in an email to the T-R. “Throughout the time I was privileged to work with him through the MPACT program, it is this understanding of balance and a love for community that motivated him toward leaving a positive impact on those he served here in Marshalltown. Tupper developed the idea of having social workers within the police department to respond to non-criminal issues alongside police officers. He reached out to (YSS of Marshall County Director of Community Engagement) David Hicks to figure out the best way to make that idea a reality. I have witnessed his compassion with families who have lost a loved one, his encouragement to MPACT and police staff after a particularly demanding situation, and his ability to take on difficult challenges and find solutions.

Marshalltown Fire Chief Christopher Cross became acquainted with Tupper nearly nine years ago.

“I came to work for the city in 2016 as the deputy fire chief,” said Cross in email to the T-R. “As a ‘transplant’ to the public safety community, Chief Tupper and his staff were truly kind and welcoming to me and my family. Mike and I have worked together on some big events and projects throughout our tenure together, and through it all one thing is clear. He loves this community and has retained his motivation to serve the members of his department and those we swore to protect. Mike is now and will always be “all in” on taking care of people. I thank him for his leadership, mentorship, and friendship and wish him well as he begins the next chapter of his life.”

Marshalltown Mayor Joel Greer has spoken effusively of Tupper ever since the former was first elected to the Marshalltown city council to represent the Second Ward.

“In 2011, before he was hired, my wife and I went to the council chambers to meet several police chief candidates, including Tupper,” wrote Greer in a recent email to the T-R. “We were impressed with his wife Sarah, a fellow lawyer and prosecutor. We were extremely impressed with Mike, who mentioned the broken window phenomenon of what can happen if a city’s structures are not kept up. After the mayor recommended him and the council approved his hire, we were impressed with his communication skills and the way he made sure the police department volunteered and participated in community events and embraced our diverse population. The outreach was fantastic, with the continued and growing citizens police academy, the blood drives, the ‘Coffee with a Cop’ events, and similar interactions.

Greer also commended the chief for his leadership during a particularly challenging time for law enforcement across the country — the aftermath of the police killing of George Floyd on May 25, 2020 in Minneapolis.

“When George Floyd was killed by officers in the Twin Cities, there were riots and protests in other places, and there was concern by downtown businesses about potential vandalism. A rally was planned here and the organizers asked Tupper to be a primary speaker. In other cities, there was anti-police sentiment. Here, our diverse community trusted our police chief and his force to keep the good relations going,” Greer said. “His speech was spot on. Marshalltown experienced no violence or destruction. What I will not miss are the 3 a.m. text messages about a crime or the 6 a.m. texts about a capture. I will also not miss having a good police chief because he helped groom at least three internal candidates that I would have easily asked the council to approve as his replacement. What we all will miss in Marshalltown are his steady hand, sense of humor, and wickedly skillful writing skills. But I look forward to watching where he next works, because he is too young and creative to stay retired.”

A retirement reception for Tupper was held at the Police/Fire building on Friday afternoon, and a combination of coworkers, law enforcement colleagues from other communities, family members and friends piled into the conference room to pay their respects to the chief. After several fellow officers including Jones and Capt. Kiel Stevenson had delivered their remarks and presented gifts, an emotional Tupper, who joked that he wasn’t sure if anyone would show up, stepped forward to reflect on his tenure in Marshalltown.

“I love this job. I’ve loved it from day one, and I’ve loved every moment. Even the hard stuff, I’ve appreciated because it was an opportunity to do something good for my community,” he said. “And I’ve worked with so many great people, and I would not have made it this far without countless people supporting me and helping me, teaching me, having a lot of patience and grace, showing me a lot of tolerance at times and believing in me.”

Tupper called those who choose to pursue law enforcement “superstars” and said he had been blessed to work with many of them throughout his career. He admitted that he struggled with the thought of leaving his position but felt it was time and was happy to be walking away with his head held high.

“Every community has been special to me, but Marshalltown has embraced the Tupper family like you would not believe. And it’s really been home, and I appreciate that,” he said. “And it hasn’t always been easy, but we’ve gotten through a lot of stuff.”

He also credited his wife and children for enduring the stress of the job and the criticism that often comes with a position like his.

“When you stand up in front of an organization, it’s your responsibility to take those arrows, but the families sometimes have to take the arrows too. So that’s the unfortunate part,” he said. “But by and large, it’s been a great job, and there’s been a lot of love. And I’m walking away today with my heart full of love for this job and this profession and the people that I’ve worked with. And Chris Jones is gonna be a great police chief. He’s gonna be way better than the last guy, and I look forward to seeing what he does next. And I look forward to seeing what the department does because we have so many good people in this police department.”