Critics of the NYPD and the police community revel in pointing out the injustices they perceive to be perpetrated by officers, especially against people of color. They talk about systemic racism, but find no irony in the fact that the four NYPD officers shot to death in the line of duty in the past 10 months were truly representative of this city's great diversity. 

Det. Wenjian Liu was an immigrant from China, Det. Rafael Ramos was Hispanic and about to be ordained a minister, Det. Brian Moore was a white man from a police family, and the latest casualty, PO Randolph Holder, was a man of color who was born in Guyana and was a third generation police officer.

Where is the injustice? Let's begin with the death of PO Holder, who has yet to be waked and whose family is equally angry and heartbroken. He was a man of color who made life choices based on a sense of purpose, altruism, ethics, morality and selfless service to others.

His alleged killer, whose name does not deserve to be mentioned here, is also a person of color who chose an altogether different path of greed, malice, violence and extensive crime. He was a predator who thought only of himself as he rampaged through his neighborhood looting, robbing, victimizing and frightening everyone he came in contact with. He was savvy enough to fool an overly lenient justice system into believing in his willingness and ability to be rehabilitated despite the havoc he had wreaked from the time he was a teenager.     

When one thinks of injustices, they should consider the "benevolent" judges who released this predatory beast back into society, against the wishes of the District Attorney's office and any semblance of common sense. You didn't need a crystal ball to know how dangerous this man was. His 16-page rap sheet and 28 arrests should have told even the most compassionate jurist that he was a menace to society and should not have been foisted back upon us so recklessly and carelessly.

The injustice is that PO Holder, a man of indisputable integrity, decency and commitment to the common good is gone while his killer is still alive.

The injustice lies in the fact that there is no public outage, no proclamations from elected officials, no chants for peace and justice.

Had PO Holder managed to mortally wound this man, there would inevitably have been racial hucksters taking to the streets.  We would have heard "Black Lives Matter," and seen signs saying "Pigs In A Blanket, Fry Them Like Bacon".  There would have been speeches from racial apologists costumed as city officials and, quite possibly, even the U.S. President.  This is a scene we know all too well.

The only injustices here are that PO Holder is dead and his killer is not. Both men made choices, but in this case evil won out over good.

Where are the racial charlatans now, when PO Holder, the good guy died, and his killer, a career criminal who by all rights should not even have been free, survived?

Black lives do matter, as all lives do, but the silence from the pundits speak volumes about society's state of affairs.

May God hold you in the palm of his hands, PO Holder. We will never forget you and will always keep you in our thoughts and prayers. We owe you a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid, especially for making the world a better place during the 33 years we were blessed to share this Earth with you.

Ed Mullins, President
Sergeants Benevolent Association/New York City