NYPD officials say the man suspected of shooting and killing a police officer had dropped out of a diversion program and had been sought in connection with another shooting back in September.
Tyrone Howard is accused of killing Officer Randolph Holder in East Harlem Tuesday night. Police say Holder,33, was shot in the head as he responded to calls of shots fired and a stolen bicycle at gunpoint. Police say Howard was wounded in the leg and captured a few blocks away. He's currently in police custody.
Police say Howard, and 30,had been arrested 28 times since the age of 13. Even with this record, Howard was able to qualify for a diversion program that allowed him to be freed from jail. A spokesman for the New York State court system says Howard was the "perfect candidate" because he was charged with selling and possessing drugs and was addicted. Police Commissioner William Bratton blasted that decision Wednesday."He would absorb been the final person in New York City I would absorb wanted to see in a diversion program. He has shown no propensity with the number of arrests over the many-year period of time for changing his ways, and " Bratton said.The shooting death of the fourth police officer in 11 months has reignited the debate about crime and policing in New York City. WNYC's Brigid Bergin says Mayor Bill de Blasio on Wednesday doubled down on his support for Bratton's approach to policing. "The mayor tried to really stress that there's only a small segment of New Yorkers,numbering actually in the thousands that are committing the huge majority of violent crimes and the NYPD is pursuing those individuals," Bergin said. Bergin and WNYC's Robert Lewis spoke to All Things Considered Host Jami Floyd.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source: wnyc.org