Detective Randolph A. Holder

Randolph A. Holder

Detective Randolph Holder was shot and killed while pursuing an armed male subject.

He and his partner were on patrol in the East Harlem section of Manhattan when they responded to a call of shots fired. The officers spoke to a victim who informed them that one of the males who had been firing a gun had also robbed him at gunpoint and fled on a bicycle. The officers canvassed the area for the suspect and located him approximately 18 blocks away near a footbridge over Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive at 120th Street.

Detective Holder and his partner pursued the suspect, who engaged the officers in a gun battle. Detective Holder was struck in the head in the exchange of gunfire. He was transported to Harlem Hospital where he later died from his wound.

The suspect, who had been wounded in the exchange of gunfire, was located several blocks away by responding officers and taken into custody. In March 2017 the subject was convicted of murder, robbery, and other charges. On April 3, 2017, he was sentenced to life in prison.

Detective Holder had served with the New York City Police Department for five years and was assigned to Police Service Area 5. Detective Holder's father and grandfather served as police officers in his native Guyana.

Detective Holder was posthumously promoted from the rank of officer to the rank of Detective.

In August 2017, the intersection of Collier Avenue and Briar Place was renamed Detective Randolph Holder Way.