Flags at half-staff in honor of slain NYC cop

Thirty-year-old Tyrone Howard is in custody and is expected to be charged Wednesday. Holder, now looking for a suspect who was armed and in possession of stolen property, wound up following three individuals who were not involved with either incident. Howard's attorney cited his client's addiction to PCP when requesting the program in May, and Judge Edward McLaughlin approved, noting that he had no prior convictions for violent crimes on his record.

Officers pursued the suspects and encountered a man on a bicycle.

Over 100 police officers thronged the Manhattan criminal court to follow proceedings, a few with uniforms and others in plainclothes.

An exchange of gunfire in East Harlem set off a chain of events that ended with the fatal shooting of a New York police officer 13 minutes later, the New York Police Department said Wednesday. He also was arrested in connection with a 2009 shooting, but the AP said the disposition of that case was unclear. He was wanted for an earlier shooting in East Harlem. "We don't know Mr. Howard's involvement".

That figure is up 15% from the same time previous year.

Bratton also said that Howard, who has two children, was a unsafe criminal and a "poster boy for not being diverted" to a treatment-oriented drug court instead of prison.

Police arrested a suspect, who had been shot in the legs, near East 124th Street.

"There's a lot of crime around here that comes from the housing (projects)", said Monica Amolina, who works at the school.

McLaughlin says previous prison stints hadn't seemed to change his behavior. But while line-of-duty police slayings are down from a high of 12 in 1971, the four officers killed in the past 11 months represent more than in any 12-month period in recent years, police records show.

Mayor Bill de Blasio called on the city and criminal justice system to do more to protect the community and officers. "It never gets easier and it should never get easier", Bratton said.

Howard did attend the diversion program as required, but he stopped showing up for court sometime in August. The officers saw a man adjusting something in his waistband, and when they pulled up behind him to ask questions, the man opened fire on them, hitting Moore. "But recently he was saying that the area in which he worked was a very risky area, where everybody owns a gun". "You're making life-changing decisions for the subject and potentially life-threatening decisions for the public". Seven people have been killed in the East River Houses this year, nearly double the number of murders from last year.

"We are humbled by Officer Randolph Holder's example", de Blasio said at the press conference.

The 33-year-old Holder, who had plans to become a detective and had won six commendations, had been on the force since 2010.

"New York City police officers every day, we go out and carry ourselves like superheroes on the streets", he said.

The officer was shot in the head and died a short time later. "Officer Holder acted with bravery and selflessness in protecting countless New Yorkers in the midst of an extremely risky situation".

• Move that hour hand back Sunday

• Atacama Desert, the Driest Place on Earth Covered with Pink Floral Beds

• Last UK detainee at Guantanamo arrives in Britain