Roll of Honor
Incident
Detective Howard Downes was killed when his unmarked patrol car was struck by a car that ran a red light at the intersection of 18th Avenue at South 18th Street. The impact of the collision caused Detective Downes and his partner to be thrown from the vehicle. His partner sustained serious injuries but recovered. The driver of the car that caused the collision had been drinking but was determined not to be drunk at the time. He was charged with causing death by auto. Detective Downes had been with the Newark Police Department for three years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and son.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NJ-20E61F98- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Detective Downes gave the Newark Police Division 3 years.
Thank you for your service to the Newark community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Detective Downes.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Detective Howard K. Downes is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In NJ, 258 of 646 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 39.9% of this state's fallen. That is 8.9 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At Newark Police Division, 19 of 58 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 32.8% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Howard K. Downes's cause is highlighted.
How Howard K. Downes Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Howard K. Downes is highlighted in Feb.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
57 officers from Newark Police Division are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
