Manchester police to hold dinner to benefit fallen detective’s family

The Manchester Police Department on Aug. 5 will host a benefit spaghetti dinner to benefit the family of late Manchester Police Detective Dave Prouty, who passed away suddenly on May 24. Prouty was 37 years old and left behind a wife and four children. The family had just purchased a house when Prouty passed away due to complications from surgery.

“When someone dies at 37, no one in his family is prepared for that,” Manchester Police Sgt. Chuck Hunn, one of the organizers of the event, said.  “We’re just looking to help supplement what they have. This just happened out of the blue, and it’s a real tragedy for all of us.”

Prouty was with the Manchester Police Department for 14 years, starting off as a patrolman and eventually serving on the department’s squad of six detectives. He was a firearms and TASER instructor for the department as well.

According to Hunn, Prouty was devoted to his family. Around the police station, his sense of humor and willingness to speak his mind kept all of the members of the department laughing and entertained.

“He’s just a guy that put a smile on your face every time you saw him,” Hunn said.

Hunn said Prouty’s death took everyone in the department by surprise.

“It just came from nowhere,” he said. “I was just talking to him in the hallway one day. The next day, I find out he was in the hospital, and then eight days later, he’s gone.”

Hunn was close to Prouty’s family, helping them move several times, and that is what inspired him to put together the dinner.

“His 4-year-old looks just like him,” Hunn said. “That was his little ‘mini-me.’ There was a lot of love in that family.”

The dinner will be held from 3:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Fri., Aug. 5 at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 567 St. Joseph Lane in Manchester. The price is $10 and includes spaghetti, salad, garlic bread, dessert and drink. Memorial T-shirts will be available for $15, and all proceeds will benefit Prouty’s family.