A New York City police officer has died after being shot in the head in a gun battle while pursuing a suspect following a report of…
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Tyrone Howard is in custody at the NYPD’s 25th precinct stationhouse in connection with Tuesday night’s shooting in the East Harlem neighborhood, a law-enforcement official said.
Officers observed Howard biking north, and called in a radio transmission for backup, summoning Officer Holder and his partner, Officer Omar Wallace, of the Housing Bureau Anti-Crime Unit. Police officers and the suspect exchanged gunfire. Three other men were taken in for questioning, however police have yet to identify the suspects.
Criminal justice experts said a combination of factors contributed to Holder becoming the fourth NYPD officer killed in the past 10 months.
Last year, Howard was placed in a drug diversion program meant to reduce jail time for drug offenders and ease jail overcrowding.
He traveled to New York and was spotted on surveillance inside the Atlantic Mall Terminal, about three hours before the 2:47 pm shooting.
(AP Photo/Michael Balsamo). Police officers investigate along FDR Drive at East 120 Street on Tuesday, October 20, 2015, in New York where a New York City police officer was fatally shot.
‘He was the best guy ever’.
“We are heartbroken by the loss of NYPD Officer Holder and the unfathomable frequency with which we find our City mourning the loss of young and promising officers”, Councilmembers Vanessa Gibson (D-Bronx) and Jumaane Williams (D-Brooklyn). “The death of Officer Holder is hurting us all”.
There were emotional scenes as police officers formed a line outside Harlem Hospital Center as Holder’s body passed by them in an ambulance early Wednesday morning.
Commissioner Bill Bratton told a news conference on Wednesday: “The perpetrator involved here was obviously a hardened, violent criminal who should not have been allowed on the streets”. “That has a direct correlation, I would suggest, to more cops getting killed on the streets”, said former NYPD officer and Federal Bureau of Investigation agent Manny Gomez. Police Commissioner William Bratton blasted that decision Wednesday.
Funeral arrangements have been set for a New York City police officer slain in a shootout with a suspect.
Nationwide, 31 officers besides Holder have been killed by firearms in the past year, down from 38 the year before, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, a nonprofit law enforcement information clearinghouse.
“There’s a lot of crime around here that comes from the housing (projects)”, said Monica Amolina, who works at the school. Lots of gang activity. A witness reported that he had had his bike stolen at gunpoint. Officer Adam Dixon suffered gunshot wounds to the chest and was hospitalized.
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The 33-year-old had been an officer for about five years. His identity hasn’t been released. Howard Simmons/New York Daily News “These first responders lay down their lives for us, the least we can do is take care of their families”, said former New York Mets outfielder Rusty Staub, who created the fund in 1985.
