Home > Awards > Officer of the Quarter > 2008 > Howell, 2008 Fourth Quarter

Detective Howell, Officer of the Fourth Quarter

The Excellence in Law Enforcement Committee selected Detective Howell as Officer of the Fourth Quarter of 2008. Detective Howell demonstrated performance above and beyond that which is routinely expected.

In October, Detective Howell worked a case involving a counterfeit one dollar bill, and was able to make an arrest. Although it was only a dollar bill, the act of printing money is a serious offense, and very few cases result in arrests. That same month he worked a felony assault case and was able to make an arrest by utilizing a confidential informant. He positively identified the suspect while still being able to keep the informant’s identity hidden. He also cleared another felony assault/abduction case with a warrant request.

In November, Detective Howell did some outstanding work on two separate credit card fraud cases. He located and complied pertinent financial records, identified the suspects, and was able to get a confession on one case, and request a warrant on the other.

In December, he was recognized for work he did on two separate theft cases. One involved successfully identifying the suspect and requesting a warrant for their arrest. On the second case he was able to identify and locate the suspect in order to make an arrest. Also in December, Detective Howell was contacted while on vacation, in connection with a sensitive case involving computerized equipment. He volunteered to come in that night and examine the equipment due to the time-sensitive nature of the investigation, and even made a trip to the store in order to get the necessary cables to hook up the hardware. He also received two commendations during the month of December.

Detective Howell has developed himself into a first class investigator time and again. He has worked tirelessly to bring himself up to speed in the area of computer forensics, and has repeatedly put those skills to work, including being called upon by outside agencies to examine their seized computers. He is quick to assist other detectives and never complains about an assignment. He also led the unit in cases cleared during the months of March, April, June, October, November, and December.

Throughout the year, Detective Howell continually did an outstanding job of investigating the many identity theft cases that came along. Most of these were actually occurring outside of our jurisdiction, however, Detective Howell gathered a great deal of information and forwarded it to the proper jurisdiction for follow up and prosecution.

Honorable Mentions
2008 Officer of the Fourth Quarter

Those officers receiving honorable mention were Detective Legband and Officers Brewer and Meyer.

In October, Detective Legband worked a "routine" case involving harassing phone calls. He thoroughly investigated the case and was able to identify the suspect. Through further investigation he learned that the suspect had a history of that type of behavior, and what seemed like a harmless, isolated case was identified for what it really was; a repeat offender who needed law enforcement intervention. Detective Legband had also recently been selected to serve as a Crisis Negotiator, and in October he participated in a scenario-based training session involving both TNU and the South Metro SWAT Team, along with a variety of civilian "actors". The TNU Commander commented on Detective Legband’s exemplary performance during the scenario, and noted that he was key in extracting critical information which was used to formulate a coordinated strategy and response between TNU and SWAT. Detective Legband’s interpersonal/communications skills continue to be one of his strong points.

In November, Detective Legband received a commendation for his extensive work on a series of connected burglaries in the metro area. It was a prime example of the work ethic and tenacity exhibited by Detective Legband. In December he was made aware of an unreported forgery. He initiated a case report, proceeded to investigate the case, and was able to identify the suspect and request a warrant. That same month he cleared a felony theft case with an arrest, and made another arrest on a misdemeanor theft.

In September, Officer Brewer drafted a form for use by the Journey’s Recovery Center, Hands of the Heartland, and other temporary juvenile placement centers. The form allows staff members to fill in important information on missing juveniles ahead of time, to be turned over to the responding officer at the time of call, saving valuable time. This was done with no direction from his supervisor or commander. In fact, we didn’t even know he was working on it until it was complete. Staff reviewed and approved the form for use in October.

In October Officer Brewer took part in the Citizen Police Academy. Also in October, Officer Brewer was asked to fill in as an FTO for a few days due to the absence of a trainee’s assigned FTO.

In November, Chief Stacey was contacted by a teacher at Bryan Middle School. This teacher had lost his wedding ring somewhere on the school soccer fields and was desperate to find it. Officer Lopez, knowing that Officer Brewer has an interest in metal detecting, asked Officer Brewer to help. Officer Brewer volunteered his off-duty time to help the teacher and he located the ring in short order. The teacher was very grateful.

In December, Officer Brewer and another officer arranged the donation of left-over food that had been brought to the north site for officers during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

Officer Brewer did an amazing job on a check well-being call. An elderly female had decided that she’d lived long enough and had simply stopped eating and taking her medicines. Officer Brewer showed incredible patience with the initially very uncooperative female. He was somehow able to convince her to go to the hospital voluntarily on the rescue squad.

Officer Meyer was commended by his peers for his level of activity and officer initiated performance. Officer Meyer routinely turns basic calls and traffic stops into much more that lead to many arrests. Officer Meyer has been consistent in this area for many years. Officer Meyer also assisted K9 and fire investigators with an arson case on Galvin Road. Through Officer Meyer’s and other officers' work, two suspects were identified and confessed to the crime.