Los Angeles Police Department, California
End of Watch: Sunday, May 22, 1938
Age: 46
Tour of Duty: 21 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: May 22, 1938
Weapon Used: Handgun; Luger
Suspect Info: Died in mental institution
Lieutenant George Howard was shot and killed by a mentally disturbed subject shortly after midnight at North Broadway Road and Bishop Road in Los Angeles.
The subject was arguing with the streetcar driver and threatened the driver and passengers when Lieutenant Howard boarded the car. Lieutenant Howard asked the subject to cease annoying the man. As Lieutenant Howard stepped off the streetcar, the man pulled out a Luger pistol and shot him in the back of the head and shoulder. The subject was apprehended by four other officers on the streetcar.
He was taken to the Georgia Street Receiving Hospital where he succumbed to his wounds.
The suspect was a 66-year-old private detective who said he could not remember what he did. He was found to be insane and committed to the Camarillo State Mental Hospital, where he died in 1946.
Lieutenant Howard was a military veteran who served with the Los Angeles Police Department for 21 years. He was survived by his wife, child, brother, and an uncle, who served with the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, DC.
He is buried at Arlington Cemetary.