Cop tells NYPD officer's suspected killer: "I hope you burn"
NEW YORK -- A suspect charged in the fatal shooting of an NYPD officer during a gunfight on a pedestrian bridge was ordered held without bail during his first court appearance Wednesday night.
Tyrone Howard, 30, was charged with first-degree murder and robbery in connection with the Tuesday night shooting that killed Officer Randolph Holder,CBS News York reported. He did not enter a plea.
Hundreds of NYPD officers packed the Manhattan courtroom and spilled into the hallway, according to CBS New York's Tony Aiello. One of the officers was heard yelling to Howard, "I hope you burn."
Patrick Lynch, president of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, voiced his members' anger after the arraignment.
"This coward couldn't even stand up. Yesterday evening, he was able to run. Yesterday evening, he was able to pull a gun. Yesterday evening, he was tough enough to pull that trigger and kill a police officer," Lynch said.
Police said the fatal shooting happened as Holder and his partner responded to a report of shots being fired around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday near a public housing development in East Harlem.
When they arrived, a man told the officers his bike had been stolen at gunpoint and that the suspect fled with a group of people on a footpath heading north along the FDR Drive.
Police said when the officers caught up to a man with a bike on a pedestrian overpass that spans the highway, they traded gunfire.
New York Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said late Tuesday that Holder, 33, died at Harlem Hospital after being shot in the head. Holder was a five-year veteran of the NYPD, Bratton said.
"He did what every other officer in the NYPD does when the call comes -- he ran toward danger," police Commissioner Bill Bratton said Tuesday. "It was the last time he will respond to that call."
Howard was arrested about four blocks from where Holder was shot, suffering from a gunshot wound to the leg. He was released from a hospital early Wednesday.
Last year, Howard was placed in a drug diversion program meant to reduce jail time for drug offenders and ease jail overcrowding. Although state court officials defended that decision Wednesday, Bratton said it was a mistake.
"If ever there was a candidate for someone not to be diverted, it's this guy," Bratton said. "He's the poster boy for not being diverted."
Police said Howard's criminal history stretches back to age 13 with 28 arrests, including the shooting of an 11-year-old, in addition to robbery and assault. He had been sentenced to state prison twice since 2007 on drug possession and sale convictions, according to state records.
"The perpetrator involved here was obviously a hardened violent criminal that should not be on the streets," Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday.
James O'Neill, the NYPD's chief of department, told CBS New York that Howard was also wanted in connection with a Sept. 1 shooting in Manhattan. Investigators suspected Howard had shot at a member of the East Army gang; he wasn't arrested because he skipped out on court dates and police couldn't track him down at his home.