It is with great pleasure that I am able to write this article about a Bellevue Police Officer who was selected at the 2023 Police Officers’ Association of Nebraska – Officer of the Year. Officer Marcus Larr was selected based on his incomparable work production during the past year.
In 2022, Officer Larr led the entire Bellevue Police Department in officer-initiated activity with 869 self-initiated contacts which was 209 more than the next highest officer. In total for 2022, besides the self-initiated contacts, he also made 279 total arrests, 169 drug arrests, 32 DUI arrests, 47 felony arrests, and five weapons arrests. Officer Larr had the highest number of total arrests, wrote the most traffic citations, had the third-highest total of warning/equipment violations. Along with his high numbers in officer-initiated activity, Officer Larr also handled the second most calls for service and had the fourth-highest number of reports taken for the department.
In the nomination written by Sgt. Dustin Franks, he wrote;
“Officer Larr currently works in the Crime Suppression Unit and excels in looking for illegal drugs and guns, and criminal behavior in our community. Marcus’ criminal interdiction skills have made him excel at identifying, locating, and addressing hotspots for criminal activity in our city. His ability to relate to people through his roadside interview skills has led to numerous drugs and weapons being taken off of the street.
Officer Larr often digs deeper into calls he responds to and during the stops he makes which often results in other crimes or additional information that aids the investigation units. His leadership and tactical experience are a valuable resource to all who work with him.
In 2022 Officer Larr took the steps to become a Drug Recognition Expert (DRE). This is a very difficult process with initial training, examinations, and field evaluations. Officer Larr has become a great resource to many metro area law enforcement agencies in this area.”
You may recall from the March 2023 article in the Bellevue Times – Officer Larr was named the Bellevue Police Officer of the Year for 2022. He was also selected as a Sarpy County Crime Stopper of the Year.
Marcus has not slowed down since receiving these awards. In fact, in the first quarter of 2023 (Jan-Mar), Larr has 391 self-initiated contacts, written 123 citations, 115 warning/equipment violations, made 71 drug arrests, 2 DUI arrests, 21 felony arrests, 3 misdemeanor arrests, and 6 weapons arrests.
Sgt. Franks sums up this award for Marcus Larr, stating; “With his unmatched dedication and constant commitment to locate and detour criminal activity in our local community and the State of Nebraska, I believe Officer Marcus Larr would make an excellent selection for the Police Officers’ Association Officer of the Year Award. Officer Larr leads by example and inspires those around him to perform at a higher level.”
It is due to the outstanding work of Marcus Larr and his fellow BPD Officers that make Bellevue an extremely safe place to live, work, and play.
Chief Ken Clary
