Thousands of mourners turned out today in downtown to pay their respects to Deputy Sheriff Carl Howell who was killed last week in the line of duty. Reno Public Radio’s Anh Gray was there and has this remembrance.
As a helicopter hovered above, crowds quietly lined the streets in the sweltering heat around the Reno Events Center. People were waving American flags and saluting as the motorcade of more than 800 law enforcement vehicles made its way through. Near the end of the procession, Deputy Carl Howell’s casket was carried on a bright yellow Carson City fire truck.
The service for Howell began with this heart-felt rendition of the Star Spangled Banner before thousands of mourners including Governor Brian Sandoval and Senator Harry Reid .
Several people took the stage to remember their friend and fallen comrade.
“Carl you’re my original partner, the first deputy I trusted when you said, 'I’d take a round for you, but you’re buying drinks after.'”
“We’re upset, we’re sad, we’re crying, we’re devastated—this is an emotional wreck for us. But everybody in here, the Howell family, and Deputy Carl Howell, 5466, I want to hear a massive round of applause and cheers for this man right now…”
You just heard from Deputy Sheriffs Dan Jones and Bob Guimont.
His brother Cory also spoke, recalling a light-hearted story about borrowing his brother’s car once to go to work but he ended up getting pulled over three times. Officers told him they stopped the car in hopes of greeting their colleague.
“I knew two things: that his brothers in the police force really loved him, and that I would never borrow his car again,” Cory Howell says.
Deputy Sheriff Carl Howell was a Marine Corps veteran and a member of the Nevada Honor Guard. He would have turned 36 this fall. He leaves behind his wife Rachel and their four children. Their ages range from seven to twelve.
Nine years ago he joined the sheriff’s office as a patrol officer and then was assigned to court services. Because of staffing needs, he recently signed up to return to a temporary patrol assignment. Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong says Howell had just two more patrol shifts before he would have returned to court services.
“Carl was an ambassador of law enforcement. He was the officer you would call when you heard noises in your back yard during the hour of darkness,” Furlong says. “I don’t think we ever received a single complaint on Carl. He just had that perfect community officer character about him.”
Howell died while responding to a domestic disturbance call, when a male suspect identified as Jonathan Pope opened fire.
Sheriff Furlong says his men and women constantly place their lives at risk, but there’s been a recent spike in domestic violence calls and that worries him.
“As we see with Carl, domestic violence can bleed not only inside the family but to those responding or those living in the environment around that violence."
Nevada has one of the highest rates in the country of women killed by men in domestic disputes.
Furlong says families experiencing domestic problems need more access to help so that it doesn’t escalate into violence.
Deputy Carl Howell is the first officer that has been killed in the line of duty at the Carson City Sheriff’s Office in more than half a century.
Reno Police Department is investigating the shooting death of Deputy Howell and results could take six months to a year to complete.
