A 31-year-old man accused of shooting a New York City police officer in the head during a chase has been indicted on murder charges, Manhattan’s district attorney announced Tuesday.
The indictment lays out a multiple charges against Tyrone Howard, including aggravated murder, first-degree murder, second-degree murder and first-degree robbery.
Howard pleaded not guilty in court Tuesday to the charges, according to the Manhattan district attorney’s office.
“The defendant in this case … is charged with willfully and maliciously murdering one of New York’s finest,” New York County District Attorney Cyrus Vance said in a statement. “This prosecution will not bring back this brave public servant, but we hope, by seeking justice, it will bring a measure of comfort to Detective Holder’s family, his colleagues in the NYPD and the city as a whole.”
Randolph “Randy” Holder, 33, a native of Guyana who had joined the New York City Police Department, was shot in the head while chasing a suspect in an East Harlem housing complex on October 20.
Holder’s partner, Omar Wallace, fired back and wounded the suspect while chasing him on a footbridge along the East River. The suspect was arrested, and authorities identified him as Howard, who was wanted in connection with a September 1 gang-related shooting and had a warrant out for his arrest.
New York police divers later recovered a .40-caliber pistol and a shell casing in the riverbed. The shell casing matched the pistol found in the river, according to a law enforcement official.
During an emotional eulogy last month, Police Commissioner William Bratton promoted Holder to first-grade detective and issued him shield number 9657, the same number his father wore when he served in Guyana.
Bratton choked up while reading a letter written by Holder, then a new recruit, talking about how he’d emigrated from the South American nation to the United States to live with his father.
“All I wanted to do was make a difference in my community,” Holder wrote, according to the police commissioner.
