The Chicago Police Department is mourning the loss of retired police officer Larry Neuman, the agency’s longest-serving explosives technician, who was fatally shot outside his home on June 20.
Neuman, 73, was in the middle of paying someone for mowing the grass outside his home when two people, armed with guns, approached.
Neuman noticed that both individuals were carrying guns and acted quickly. He heroically pushed the lawncare worker out of danger and grabbed his firearm from his waistband, exchanging gunfire with the suspects. Tragically, Neuman was shot and killed by the suspects, who fled the scene.
“[Neuman] pushed this person to safety and put his own life on the line even at age 73,” Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said.
At a news conference on June 24, Snelling announced that a 16-year-old boy had been arrested and charged with first-degree murder in connection with Neuman’s killing.
Chicago Police Chief of Detectives Antoinette Ursitti credited residents for their help in identifying one of the two teenage shooters.
“The community assistance in this case was instrumental in the investigation,” Ursitti said. “The evidence they provided helped detectives quickly secure charges against the 16-year-old offender.”
While police look for the second suspect in this tragic and senseless case, the agency charged Lazarius Watt as an adult with first-degree murder. In March, Watt was charged as a juvenile after stealing a 2023 Volkswagen Atlas. Watt was initially given electronic monitoring in the carjacking case, but that was revoked after six violations in seven months. A judge then gave Watt home confinement — which he was supposed to be on when he shot and killed Neuman.
After working at the Chicago Police Department for nearly 30 years, Neuman most recently served as an explosives technician with the TSA at Midway International Airport, where he passed on his knowledge to younger generations. He was also heavily involved in his West Garfield Park community.
“He still lived within that community when he didn’t have to,” Snelling said. “But it showed how much he cared about the people who live in that neighborhood. Larry’s life was taken from him by the very people he committed his life to help.”
