Let us not forget Detective Randolph A. Holder of New York City Police
Department, New York, was killed in the line of duty on October
20, 2015. We will also remember him on his birthdate, March 19 every year. Let
us honor this fallen policeman by remembering how he lived on this earth and
treasure his memories.
 |
|
Detective
Randolph A. Holder
(March
20, 1982 to October 20, 2015)
|
INTERNET
SOURCE: http://www.odmp.org/officer/22627-detective-randolph-a-holder
Detective
Randolph A. Holder
New York City Police Department, New
York
End of Watch: Tuesday, October 20, 2015
End of Watch: Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Bio & Incident Details
Age: 33
Tour: 5 years
Badge # 13340
Cause: Gunfire
Weapon: Handgun
Offender: Apprehended
Police Officer Randolph Holder was shot and killed
while pursuing an armed male subject.
He and his partner were on patrol in the East Harlem section of Manhattan when they responded to a call of shots fired. The officers spoke to a victim who informed them that one of the males who had been firing a gun had also robbed him at gunpoint and fled on a bicycle. The officers canvassed the area for the suspect and located him approximately 18 blocks away near a footbridge over Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive at 120th Street.
Officer Holder and his partner pursued the suspect, who engaged the officers in a gun battle. Officer Holder was struck in the head in the exchange of gunfire. He was transported to Harlem Hospital where he later died from his wound.
The suspect, who had been wounded in the exchange of gunfire, was located several blocks away by responding officers and taken into custody.
Officer Holder had served with the New York City Police Department for five years and was assigned to Police Service Area 5. Officer Holder's father and grandfather served as police officers in his native Guyana.
Officer Holder was posthumously promoted to the rank of Detective.
Officer Randolph Holder: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know
Published
12:25 am EDT, October 21, 2015 Updated 2:22 pm EDT, October 21, 2015 2
Comments By Tom Cleary
 |
|
New York City Police Department Officer
Randolph Holder, 33, was killed in the line of duty. He was shot in the head
during a gunfight with an armed robbery suspect. (NYPD)
|
A New York City police officer was
fatally shot in a gunfight Tuesday night near FDR Drive in East Harlem,
officials said at a
press conference.
Officer Randolph Holder, 33, died at
Harlem Hospital, Police Commissioner William Bratton said. A suspect in the
shooting, 30-year-old Tyrone
Howard, is in custody.
“He was killed in the line of duty,
murdered,” Bratton said. “Tonight, he did what every other officer in the NYPD
does, when the call comes, he ran toward danger. It was the last time he will respond
to that call.”
Holder was a native of Guyana and a
five-year veteran of the NYPD.
“This sadness is so hard
to describe, what everyone is going through, and we’re fighting to understand
the loss of a man who did so much, cared so much, dedicated his life to
protecting other,”
Mayor Bill de Blasio said. “An immigrant who wanted
to give back to his city and his country, and who had an exemplary record as a
police officer, who did everything the right way. We honor the memory of
Officer Holder, a man who, in the words of Abraham Lincoln, gave the last full
measure of his devotion on behalf of the city he loved.”
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Holder Is
a Third Generation Police Officer
 |
|
Officer
Randolph Holder was born in Guyana and immigrated to the United States with his
family. He was a third-generation police officer. (Facebook)
|
Holder is a
third-generation police officer. Both his father and grandfather were police
officers in Guyana, Commissioner Bratton said at a press conference.
He became an officer in
July 2010. He was assigned to Police Service Area 5 in Manhattan.
Police Commissioner William Bratton said
at a press conference that Holder’s father, also Randolph Holder, was at the
hospital, along with other family members.
“In his time of grief,
he sought to comfort the officers from PSA 5,” Bratton said. “He was strong enough and brave enough to go in and address them. As
they tried to comfort him, he was in fact comforting them. An extraordinary
individual, and I can understand his son, and the bravery his son exhibited
tonight, rushing toward danger, and giving his life for the citizens of New
York City.”
“He was a very
disciplined, fun-loving, caring young man, always with a smile on his face,” his father told the New York Post. “He
was well loved by his fellow officers.”
Holder lived in Far Rockaway, Queens.
“He loved being a cop,” his cousin, Natalie
Andrews, told the Post. “My father was talking to
him [recently] and asked him, `Are you sure you want to be a cop?’ He said, `Yes,
this is my passion. I’m not afraid. I can handle it.’”
Funeral plans for Holder have not yet
been announced.
2. He Was
Shot in the Head During a Shootout With an Armed Robbery Suspect
Holder and his partner, who are
assigned to the Housing Bureau PSA 5, responded to a shots fired call at about
8:30 p.m. in the area of East 102nd Street and First Avenue in the East Harlem
area of Manhattan. Witnesses said several males had fled on a footpath adjacent
to the river heading toward FDR Drive. They arrived to find a victim who said
his bicycle was stolen from him at gunpoint by one of the men.
He and the other officers, assigned to
the anti-crime unit and in plainclothes, located the suspect, on a bicycle,
near East 120th Street on a pedestrian overpass above FDR Drive.
The suspect exchanged gunfire with the
two officers, police said, and Holder was shot in the head. The suspect fled on
foot.
3. He Was Taken to Harlem Hospital
& Was Pronounced Dead About 2 Hours Later
Holder
was taken to Harlem Hospital in critical condition, where doctors were unable
to save him, despite their best efforts, Bratton said at a press conference.
(You can watch the press conference in the video above. It starts at about the
23-minute mark.)
Holder
was pronounced dead at 10:22 p.m.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a press
conference, “We are all in mourning tonight, this whole
city is in mourning. We are mourning a man who gave his life as a guardian for
all of us. And we are humbled by Officer Randolph Holder’s example. An example
of service and courage and sacrifice. Our hearts are heavy and we offer our
thoughts and prayers to his family, who are experiencing unimaginable pain as
we saw earlier when we gathered with them. Our thoughts and prayers are also
with his fellow officers from PSA 5 and his larger NYPD family.
“In the midst of all this
sorrow, we have to commend the medical staff and thank the medical staff and
all the employees here at Harlem Hospital, who did everything they could to try
to save Officer Holder,” the
mayor said.
Dozens of police officers gathered at
Harlem Hospital Tuesday night.
“We just had the unfortunate
responsibility to tell a father his son wasn’t coming home today, a father that
understands what it is to wear a uniform, and he knows what it means. That
emptiness will never go way for him,” Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association President Pat Lynch
said. “New York City police officers everyday go out
and carry themselves like superheroes on the streets. But the reality is, when
we’re attacked we bleed, when we bleed we die, and when we die, we cry.”
Lynch, pointing to the police officers
watching the press conference said they need the support of the city.
“We need your support as we
bury our brother police officer, but it can’t end there,” Lynch said. “We need your super every day, on every corner, in every
neigborhood, so we can continue to carry ourselves like superheroes, so we can
save you and protect you.”
4. The
Suspect Has a Lengthy Criminal Record & Was Wanted in Another Shooting
Police identified the suspect in the
shooting
as 30-year-old Tyrone Howard. According to the New York Daily News, Howard was wanted in
connection with another shooting that happened in the same neighborhood.
Howard was a known gang member and had
20 previous arrests on charges including assault, robbery, criminal sale of a
controlled substance, public lewdness, criminal trespassing and conspiracy, CBS New York reports.
Officials said Howard was shot in the
leg, but managed to flee from the scene. He ran north and was taken into
custody about four blocks away, at 124th Street, police said.
He was taken to a hospital and was
expected to be released into police custody later Wednesday morning.
“We believe that we have the
suspect involved in the murder of our officer in custody,” Bratton said. “And we are continuing to gather evidence and continuing to
seek witnesses.”
Three other men, who have not yet been
identified, are also in custody and were possibly involved in the incident that
led to the shooting, Bratton said. They were being questioned Wednesday
morning, he said. Bratton said there may have been several firearms involved in
the gunfire that led to the original police call.
“We’re still trying to piece
together all the parts of this very large crime scene,” he said.
Bratton said they are working with the
Manhattan District Attorney’s office to determine what specific charges Howard
will face.
5. Holder Is
the 4th NYPD Officer Murdered in the Last 11 Months
Commissioner Bratton said Holder is
the fourth NYPD officer murdered in the last 11 months.
“That’s about as bad as it
gets,” Bratton
said at a press conference Wednesday morning announcing Holder’s death. “This is the hardest thing we do, when we mourn one of our
own. I’ve been doing it for 45 years, and it doesn’t get easier. And it should
never get easier.”
In December 2014, officers Wenjian
Liu and Rafael
Ramos were ambushed and killed in their squad car. The gunman, Ismaaiyl
Brinsley, fatally shot himself.
Officer
Brian Moore was shot on May 2, 2015, and died days later. Demetrius
Blackwell was charged in his death.
No comments:
Post a Comment