Henry Franklin Howie
Agency patch
Officer

Henry Franklin Howie

Big Spring Police Department — Big Spring, TX
Felonious
End of Watch August 10, 1931
Age 53
The Vigil Panel 62 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Officer Howie was shot and killed after responding to a disturbance involving two men. Officer Howie and one of the men were sitting in his patrol car discussing the incident when the second man came out and opened fire on them, fatally wounding Officer Howie. The suspect was arrested, sentenced to four years, but had his sentence suspended.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-TX-BF1EE965
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 Howie served with the Big Spring Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Big Spring community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Officer Howie.

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

Agency

Type Police Department
Location Big Spring, Howard County, TX
Platform Identity bspd.howard.tx.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch August 10, 1931
Age 53
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious
Weapon Gun

Officer Henry Franklin Howie is one of 1 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.

In TX, 1,461 of 2,422 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 60.3% of this state's fallen. That is 60.3 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At Big Spring Police Department, 3 of 4 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 75% of this agency's fallen.

Big Spring Police Department
3
of 4 officers
75% Felonious
TX — Statewide
1,461
of 2,422 officers
60.3% Felonious
Nationwide
1
of 97,772 officers
0% Felonious

National Cause Distribution

How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Henry Franklin Howie's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
1 (0%)
Accident
1 (0%)
Illness
1 (0%)
Cardiac
1 (0%)
Undetermined
1 (0%)
Suicide
1 (0%)

How Henry Franklin Howie Compares

Age at Death
53
This officer
Avg for Felonious: 39.0 years

When Felonious Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. Henry Franklin Howie is highlighted in Aug.

Jan
1,392
Feb
1,295
Mar
1,373
Apr
1,516
May
1,504
Jun
1,442
Jul
1,587
Aug
1,517
Sep
1,491
Oct
1,371
Nov
1,447
Dec
1,624

Weapons Used Against Officers

Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. Henry Franklin Howie was killed by gun.

Handgun
3,684
Gun
3,592
Gun; Unknown type
1,492
Shotgun
1,109
Rifle
935
Officer's handgun
909