For an NYPD hero, the eternal search for justice
On a Friday night 54 years ago last month, NYPD Patrolman Robert Bolden stopped by to visit the bartender at his neighborhood restaurant in downtown Brooklyn. Only one other person was there, a man lingering in the phone booth. The bartender, who wanted to close the empty bar, asked Bolden to let the man know it was time to leave. The off-duty cop tapped on the phone booth door, and the man replied by revealing a shotgun and opening fire, mortally wounding the surprised cop. As the gunman fled, an accomplice ran in and grabbed Robert Bolden’s 38-caliber service revolver. The suspects were never apprehended, making this the oldest unsolved cop-killing in modern NYPD history. But the story doesn’t end there. For the past five years, Detective John Bolden of Brooklyn South Homicide, Patrolman Bolden’s grandson, who was born seven years after the killing, has been part of a renewed effort with NYPD Crime Stoppers to offer a reward for tips that could finally lead to a resolution of the case. The fund, bolstered by donations raised by police unions and organizations like Blue Lives Matter, totals $111,500 for information that leads to an arrest and conviction – or at least an explanation of what happened. Although Detective Bolden never knew his grandfather, his ancestor was a constant and visible presence in his young life. A portrait of his grandfather hung in the living room when he was growing up and he remembers looking at the shield every single day. He says the killing impacted his family for generations and caused his grandmother’s health to deteriorate. “She really had a broken heart,” Detective Bolden says. His grandmother would often tell him, “Someday they’re going to catch the person who did this.” Witnesses to the murder might be anywhere from 65 to 95 years old today. Tipsters can contact NYPD Crime Stoppers by phone or at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org. Tipsters can remain anonymous and still collect the reward through a bank code number received at the time of giving the information. “Even if the killer is dead,” says Detective Bolden, an 18½-year NYPD veteran, “It doesn’t mean the case is closed as far as the family is concerned, because we still have a lot of unanswered questions. We want justice – or, at the very least, closure.” Asked how long he is willing to carry on the search, Detective Bolden answers unhesitatingly: “Forever.”