SLAIN COP’S BRAVE WORDS
‘Live as a lion,’ officer told partner
NYPD Officer Randolph Holder texted his partner his favorite quote just hours before he was shot dead in East Harlem last month — “It is better to live one day as a lion than 100 years as a sheep.”
The text was revealed after Tuesday’s Manhattan court arraignment of the career criminal accused of gunning down Holder during a police chase Oct. 20.
Dozens of Holder’s comrades, including the partner who watched him get shot that night, showed up in court for Tyrone Howard’s hearing — some wearing blue Tshirts with the text’s words, a quote from Benito Mussolini.
Holder, 33, texted the quote to his partner and at least one other NYPD pal the day he died, said Policemen’s Benevolent Association President Pat Lynch.
“We found out what a true hero Randolph Holder was’’ that day, Lynch said after the hearing, standing beside Holder’s father.
Minutes earlier, Howard, 31, wearing an orange prison jumpsuit, hobbled into Manhattan Supreme Court shackled and using a cane. He had been shot by Holder’s partner, Omar Wallace, as he tried to flee after shooting the officer, authorities say.
“Not guilty,” Howard mumbled to the judge, his eyes downcast, when asked how he pleaded to the charges against him, including aggravated murder, murder in the second degree and robbery. He was remanded without bail. Holder’s fiancée also was in court but didn’t speak after the proceeding.
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. 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 for Detective Holder’s family, his colleagues in the NYPD, and the city as a whole.”
Howard, who has a rap sheet that includes 28 arrests, was already wanted in connection with a Sept. 1 shooting.
“The proper venue to consider evidence is in the courtroom,” said Howard’s lawyer Michael Hurwitz. “The jury will consider that evidence and render a verdict.”