Accused N.Y. cop killer to be arraigned on murder charge
By Joseph Ax
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The man accused of killing a New York City police officer in October is scheduled to be formally arraigned for murder on Tuesday in Manhattan state court.
Tyrone Howard, 31, is charged with firing a single fatal shot into the head of Officer Randolph Holder late on Oct. 20 in the East Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan.
The arraignment comes less than two weeks after Howard was sentenced to the maximum 12 years in prison in a separate drug case that saw him receive treatment, rather than prison, as part of a plea agreement for selling crack cocaine.
The outcome of that case had drawn sharp criticism from city officials in the wake of Holder's shooting, including Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner William Bratton, who suggested that two state judges had erred in allowing Howard to remain out on the streets after a long history of drug offenses.
The Manhattan judge who ultimately signed off on Howard's plea deal, Patricia Nunez, handed down the maximum penalty on Nov. 12, saying Howard had thrown away a chance to turn his life around.
However, Nunez also had harsh words for de Blasio and Bratton, saying they had created a false narrative by ignoring the fact that Howard had never been convicted of a violent crime and was already out on bail at the time he was granted diversion into a treatment program.
She said the mayor should "look into a mirror" and ask himself whether his own policies "make somebody actually feel he can shoot a cop," prompting de Blasio to fire back that her comments were "irresponsible."
Howard, who failed to complete his treatment program, was wanted in connection with a gang-related shooting at the time of Holder's death.
Holder, 33, was a third-generation officer and the fourth New York City officer to be killed in the line of duty in the last year.
(Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Paul Tait)
