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Randolph A. Holder
Agency patch
Detective First Grade

Randolph A. Holder

New York City Police Department — New York, NY
Felonious
United States flag New York flag
End of Watch October 20, 2015
Age 33
Tour of Duty 5 yrs
Badge 9657
The Vigil Panel 165 ›
Gender Male
Incident Media Service The Sacrifice Memorials 1 Department 1,221

Incident

Randolph A. Holder was a native of Georgetown, Guyana, and came from a family of police officers; he followed his father and his grandfather into the profession. After his mother's death he emigrated to the United States in 2002 to be closer to his father and siblings, who had moved to New York City. His first job was as a security officer, where he met retired NYPD officers who spoke highly of the department and its work in the community. Hoping to make a difference and be a role model, he was appointed to the New York City Police Department on 6 July 2010. At Police Service Area 5 his colleagues called him "Doc" and came to him for advice.

At about 8:30 p.m. on 20 October 2015, Police Officer Holder and Police Officer Omar Wallace of PSA 5 answered a call of shots fired near a building on East 102nd Street, between the FDR Drive and First Avenue, in the 23rd Precinct. On the promenade near the East 120th Street footbridge they found the suspect, who had taken a bicycle from someone by force. Officer Wallace recognized him as a man he had issued a summons to a year earlier. The man, Tyrone Howard, 32, got off the bicycle, turned toward the officers and fired one shot, which struck Officer Holder in the head. Officer Wallace returned fire and hit Howard in the thigh, but Howard got away, throwing the magazine and then the gun into the Harlem River. Officer Wallace radioed a description and stayed with his partner, who was taken by an Emergency Service Unit van to Harlem Hospital, where he died.

Howard had been known to local officers since he was 13 and had more than two dozen prior arrests over 16 years, including violent offenses.

Randolph Holder was 33 years old.

At his funeral on 28 October 2015, Police Commissioner William Bratton posthumously promoted him to Detective First Grade and gave him shield 9657, his father's shield number.

In Our Keeping

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August 2, 2026
Last updated
September 9, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Tributes

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Detective Holder gave the New York City Police Department 5 years.
Thank you for your service to the New York community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Detective Holder.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Department New York City Police Department
Type Police Department
Location New York, NY
Platform Identity nypd.newyork.ny.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch October 20, 2015
Tour of Duty 5 yrs
Age 33
Badge Number 9657
Gender Male
Assignment Housing PSA #5

Incident Details

Cause Felonious
Cause Detail Gunfire
Weapon Handgun

The Sacrifice · Felonious

Randolph is one of 15,743 officers killed feloniously in the United States, 57.1% of the 27,551 remembered there.

34,117 officers are remembered on this memorial. Each number below is one of them.

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Compare against
I

Time

In 2015, 60 officers in the United States were killed feloniously, the 126th heaviest of 213 years on record. The heaviest was 1921, with 248.

Every year on record · United States
II

Who

Randolph was 33. Of the 14,220 killed feloniously in the United States whose age is recorded, half were between 31 and 47; the middle age was 38. Randolph had served 5 years; the middle length of service was 6 years.

Age at death
Where he stood among them
Age by years of service
III

When

October holds 7.9% of these deaths in the United States; December holds the most, 9.4%. Tuesdays: 13.4%.

By month
By day of the week
IV

How

Felonious deaths account for 57.1% of all 27,551 deaths in the United States, the most common cause. The weapon recorded was handgun, in 23.4% of these deaths.

Every cause
Weapons recorded
V

His people

New York City Police Department has at least 120 officers remembered here, Randolph among them.

Across the years
VI

Where

Detective First Grade Randolph A. Holder

New York City Police Department · End of Watch October 20, 2015

Where the Name Is Cut

National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial · Panel 61-E

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