On the morning of July 11, 1987, off-duty NYPD officer George Scheu, 42, saw a man attempting to break into a car near his Flushing home and confronted the suspect before leaving for Naval Reserves training. The man produced a .38 caliber pen gun and shot the unarmed officer in the face. Neighbors summoned a passing volunteer ambulance and Scheu was taken to a hospital, where he died on July 16, 1987, after five days fighting for his life.

The investigation went cold for years but saw a breakthrough in 1999 with the arrest of Henry Vega, a convicted drug dealer. Prosecutors played a videotaped confession in which Vega said he shot Scheu after being caught breaking into a red Mercedes-Benz. Vega’s defense argued the confession was coerced and pointed to inconsistencies with the crime-scene evidence; in May 2001 a jury acquitted Vega of Scheu’s murder. Scheu was survived by his wife and three children.

Does anyone have additional memories of Scheu or information about the case that could add context to what happened that July morning?