Pols say Randolph Holder bill would make streets safer
Legislation seeks to change drug rehab diversion programs
A bill that would place strict guidelines on how criminal defendants are placed in drug rehabilitation programs in lieu of jail is now heading for the state Assembly after it won approval in the state Senate.
State Sen. Marty Golden (R-C-Bay Ridge-Southwest Brooklyn) sponsored the bill, known as Officer Randolph Holder’s Law. The legislation was passed by the Senate last week.
Holder, a 33-year-old New York City police officer, was fatally gunned down in East Harlem on October 20, 2015. A native of Guyana, Holder was a five-year veteran of the New York Police Department. Tyrone Howard, the suspect who allegedly shot Holder, had been permitted to enter a drug rehabilitation program following a previous arrest.