Elston Morris Howard
Agency patch
Officer

Elston Morris Howard

Houston Police Department — Houston, TX
Felonious
End of Watch July 20, 1988
Age 24
Tour of Duty 5 yrs
The Vigil Panel 133 ›
Gender Male

Incident

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 sentenced to death and subsequently executed on Jan. 30, 2019. Officer Howard served with the Houston Police Department for five years.

Survivors

He was survived by his daughter, mother, sister and fiancee.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
NW-R9ZF-M35S-0 earlier record number BO-US-TX-2CE3DCEF
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
August 2, 2026
Last updated
August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Tributes

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Officer Howard gave the Houston Police Department 5 years.
Thank you for your service to the Houston community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Officer Howard.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Type Police Department
Location Houston, Harris County, TX
Platform Identity hpd.harris.tx.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch July 20, 1988
Tour of Duty 5 yrs
Age 24
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious
Weapon Handgun

The Sacrifice · Felonious

Elston is one of 15,741 officers killed feloniously in the United States, 57.2% of the 27,543 remembered there.

33,910 officers are remembered on this memorial. Each number below is one of them.

  1. See the roll
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Compare against
I

Time

In 1988, 97 officers in the United States were killed feloniously, the 55th heaviest of 213 years on record. The heaviest was 1921, with 248.

Every year on record · United States
II

Who

Elston was 24. Of the 14,215 killed feloniously in the United States whose age is recorded, half were between 31 and 47; the middle age was 38. Elston had served 5 years; the middle length of service was 6 years.

Age at death
Where he stood among them
Age by years of service
III

When

July holds 9.3% of these deaths in the United States; December holds the most, 9.4%. Wednesdays: 12.9%.

By month
By day of the week
IV

How

Felonious deaths account for 57.2% of all 27,543 deaths in the United States, the most common cause. The weapon recorded was handgun, in 23.4% of these deaths.

Every cause
Weapons recorded
V

His people

Houston Police Department has 117 officers remembered here, Elston among them.

Across the years
VI

Where

Officer Elston Morris Howard

Houston Police Department · End of Watch July 20, 1988

Where the Name Is Cut

National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial · Panel 10-E

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