Life in prisoni for cop killer
‘This jackal is pure evil,’ Lynch says
A cop-killing “beast” was too much of a coward to look his victim’s dad in the face before a judge sentenced him to life behind bars without the possibility of parole.
“It’s been a very hard and hectic year for myself and my family because of that beast over there,” Randolph Holder Sr. said, pointing angrily at his son’s killer, Tyrone Howard, who refused to look in his direction. “I just don’t want to call his name. He’s just so bad.”
A Manhattan jury found Howard, 33, guilty of fatally blasting Officer Randolph Holder Jr. on an FDR Drive footbridge in October 2015 as he fled the scene of a nonfatal shooting nearby.
“The NYPD is such a great force,” said Holder Sr., a retired NYPD cop. “When we are asleep, they are taking care of us, protecting us. And then for a miscreant like that beast over there to do something to any one of them is a shame.”
The courtroom was packed with more than 100 officers, with dozens more spilling into the hallway.
The grieving father continued, “My son is dead, and he is still breathing.”
Prosecutor Linda Ford lauded the younger Holder for his courageous service and said his spirit lived on “in every single New York City police officer who goes to work each day.”
She even pointed out a detective with his bomb-sniffing dog in the back of the courtroom who named his canine Randy after the slain cop.
Ford reminded Howard of the fate that awaited him, saying, “He will take his last dying breath with only inmates and corrections officers accompanying him.”
Justice Michael Obus called the shooting of a police officer a “crime against the entire community” before handing down the mandatory minimum sentence of life without parole for the conviction of first-degree aggravated murder.
“Defendant Howard has demonstrated that he considers only his own interest, and he’s an ex- tremely dangerous individual who must be isolated from the rest of society,” the judge said.
Howard chose not to address the court. As he was led out in cuffs, Holder’s stepmother, Princess Holder, shouted that he should “burn in hell.” The entire gallery erupted in applause.
Police union boss Patrick Lynch, flanked by Holder Jr.’s family, told reporters outside the courtroom, “This jackal is pure evil and should never walk the streets.”