Police Officer Larry Randolph Cox

Larry Randolph Cox

Police Officer Larry Cox was shot and killed while chasing a robbery suspect while off-duty.

The suspect was wanted for stealing a car and robbing a gas station approximately one hour earlier. Another officer spotted the vehicle and pursued it until the suspect bailed out and fled on foot. Officer Cox, who was off duty, observed the suspect fleeing and officers pursuing him. Officer Cox joined the pursuit and eventually confronted the suspect in an alley between Chestnut Street and Church Street, near High Street. During the confrontation, the suspect shot and killed Officer Cox.

The 34-year-old man was arrested nine days later for a parole violation in Pickaway County. Evidence that surfaced days later connected him with the murder.

On July 29th, 2006, the man escaped from the Ross County Jail by using bedsheets to scale a jail wall. In September 2006, he was added to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Ten Most Wanted list. He was apprehended in Chillicothe on October 19th, 2006. On December 8th, 2006, he pleaded guilty to murdering Officer Cox and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Officer Cox had served with the Chillicothe Police Department for 19 years and served as one of the city's DARE officers at the time of his murder. He is survived by his wife, son, parents, and sister.

He is buried in Greenlawn Cemetery, Chillicothe, Ross County, Ohio.