Robert Cunningham; detective won many honors for bravery

One day in October 1974, during Boston's volatile busing crisis, Detective Robert L. Cunningham was on patrol, driving through South Boston and Dorchester.

Near Old Colony and Dorchester avenues, he spotted a mob of about 30 men pulling a black man, Andre Jean Louis of Dorchester, from his car and attacking him with clubs and fists.

Mr. Cunningham jumped out of his cruiser and ordered the crowd to disperse. When the men ignored Mr. Cunningham's commands, he pulled his service weapon.

``In my mind he was going to die, no question. So I fired into the air to draw the crowd toward me and away from the man," Mr. Cunningham said in a Globe article covering the attack.

For rescuing Louis that day, Mr. Cunningham was awarded the Boston Police Department's highest honor, the Schroeder Brothers Medal for Courageous Police Service.

Mr. Cunningham, a retired Boston police detective who served in all four branches of the military, died Friday of complications from congestive heart failure at his home in Bow, N.H. He was 78.

Born in Boston, Mr. Cunningham grew up in Jamaica Plain and graduated from Boston English High School in 1945. He joined the Navy, serving as a member of the Seabees, said his wife of 15 years, Karen. He switched to the Marine Corps and served during the Korean War.

In 1955, Mr. Cunningham followed in his father's footsteps and became a member of the Boston Police Department, working as a patrol officer in District 4.

Mr. Cunningham was promoted to detective in 1961. During his tenure with the department, he served in various capacities, including in the General Investigations Unit.

He was one of the first officers to serve on the newly established K-9 unit, teaming up with a German shepherd named Rex.

``He had a love of animals that just would not quit," his wife said. ``He loved everything from cows to horses to pigeons."

Before he retired in 1984, Mr. Cunningham received dozens of awards, including two department medals of honor, the Boston Police Relief Association memorial award, a commissioner's citation, and the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association memorial award.

``You're darn right I'm proud," Mr. Cunningham said of his Schroeder Brothers award in the 1974 Globe article. ``That sort of thing is the best satisfaction in this job. Helping people, that's what I like."

After he left the department, Mr. Cunningham moved to New Hampshire, where he began working as an investigator for the Hillsborough County attorney's office. Mr. Cunningham played an important role there in establishing public safety programs and prosecuting criminals.

``We had set up a task force on crimes against children, and he was instrumental in getting that up and running and helping get some big cases prosecuted up here," said Paul Gagnon, a former US attorney for New Hampshire who was Hillsborough County attorney at the time .

``He was a legendary guy . . . the real deal," Gagnon said. ``You just knew if any kind of situation came up, he'd be capable of handling it."

He was a deputy sheriff in Hillsborough County and chief bailiff for Hillsborough County Superior Court and Manchester District Court.

Mr. Cunningham, who served with the Army Reserves as a member of the 366th Military Police Company, also was a member of a security police unit for the Air Force at Pease Air Force Base in New Hampshire during the late 1980s.

Mr. Cunningham continued working until he retired about a year ago, his wife said.

``He always looked a good 10 or 15 years younger than he was," Gagnon said. ``He was in great shape. And every hair he had on his head, he had for his whole life."

Mr. Cunningham was decidedly an outdoors man, according to his wife.

``He loved being outside, he loved to be in the woods, working outside on his home," his wife said. ``He went on many fishing and hunting trips . . . he just had to be outside."

In addition to his wife, Mr. Cunningham leaves five sons, Brian of Florida, Shawn of Manchester, N.H., Scott of Henniker, N.H., Ross of Northfield, N.H., and Daniel of Clarksville, Tenn.; four daughters, Gail of Hanover, Lynn of North Carolina, Sara of Bow , and Abby of Newbury, N.H.; two brothers, Donald of Florida and Richard of Maine; 13 grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

A funeral Mass will be said today at 2:30 p.m. in the chapel at the New Hampshire State Veterans Cemetery . Burial will follow at the cemetery.