Houston Police Department, Texas
End of Watch: Wednesday, July 20, 1988
Age: 24
Tour of Duty: 5 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: July 20, 1988
Weapon Used: Handgun
Suspect Info: Executed in 2019
Officer Elston Howard, a vice officer, was shot and killed when he interrupted a robbery at an adult bookstore at 4430 Richmond Avenue.
He was inside the bookstore writing citations for city ordinance violations to the manager when an armed subject entered the store with the intention of robbing it. When the man saw Officer Howard he shot him three times, killing him, and then robbed the store.
The man fled the store and then shot and wounded his accomplice when the man attempted to push him out of their car after learning Officer Howard had been shot.
The subject's accomplice was sentenced to 55 years in prison. The man who shot Officer Howard, had been released from the Texas Department of Corrections after serving 10 years of a 30-year sentence for a robbery spree. Following Officer Howard's killing, the suspect was was sentenced to death and subsequently executed on Jan. 30, 2019.
Officer Howard served with the Houston Police Department for five years. He was survived by his daughter, mother, sister and fiancee.