JAMAICA — Hundreds of police officers lined up along Merrick Boulevard Tuesday morning to pay their respects to slain NYPD officer Randolph Holder.
Mourners gathered outside The Greater Allen A.M.E Church in Jamaica for the wake of the fallen officer, who was gunned down during a chase and gunfight in East Harlem.
Capt. Reymundo Mundo of Police Service Area 5, where Holder was assigned, remembered the officer as a “humble” man.
Police Officer Randolph Holder's commander, Capt. Reymundo Mundo, speaks about the fallen officer during his wake in Jamaica on Tuesday. (DNAinfo/Ben Fractenberg.)
“He was a dedicated officer. He went out there each and every day and made his best effort to make that good arrest, try and make that gun arrest, trying to pursue these known criminals we know around the area,” Mundo said.
“He was a skilled and talented officer.”
Roylyn Thuesday-Gonsalves, who once lived in the same hometown in Guyana as Holder’s grandmother, said she came out in a show of support for her countrymen and Holder’s father, whom she’s known for 13 years.
“When we have a death in Guyana, all come together. It’s a tragic time,” Thuesday-Gonsalves said. “That’s how Guyanese people do — there’s a saying, ‘When somebody’s house is on fire, you got to come with a bucket of water.’”
Holder, 33, moved from Guyana to the United States to fulfill his dream of becoming a police officer.
Other attendees at Tuesday’s memorial, like Natasha Rudder, also a Guyanese immigrant, came to the wake because she felt a connection to the officer’s death.
“The fact that he is New York City's Finest, they're here to protect us,” said Rudder, 41, clutching a Guyanese flag.
“When it hits home, it hurts much more."
A family member of Officer Randolph Holder is overcome with emotion after arriving for his wake at the A.M.E Cathedral in Jamaica on Tuesday. (DNAinfo/Ben Fractenberg.)
The parents of Officer Randolph Holder arrive at his wake at the A.M.E. Cathedral in Jamaica on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015. (DNAinfo/Ben Fractenberg.)
The viewing at the Queens church is scheduled to continue through 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Holder's funeral will be held Wednesday at the church and will feature readings from his family and friends, as well as remarks from Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton.
Rev. Al Sharpton, who was asked to give the officer’s eulogy, announced Tuesday that he would not be giving the speech because “union leaders” and others would turn his attendance into a “sideshow”
In a letter addressed to Holder’s father, Randolph Holder Sr., Sharpton said he declined the invitation out of respect for Holder’s family and anything that would “take away from the focus of this city and nation” mourning the officer.
“I also, though, remain committed to the spirit of unity that you and I discussed, and National Action Network and I are available upon your return from Guyana to continue the dialogue to how we can best do that in the name of your son,” the letter reads.
The officer will be buried in his native Guyana, according to the NYPD.
