Sgt. Richard 'Sam' Howard was a police officer for the Kissimmee Police Department. ^[undefined]

Sgt. Howard has been with the department for 10 years.

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On August 18, 2017, Sgt. Howard and Matthew Baxter (Police Officer) were responding to a call at about 9:30 p.m. in the area of Palmway and Cypress streets, when they were ambushed by unidentified gunmen. ^{[1] [undefined]}

At least two people were taken into custody and police were searching for a third suspect.

Officer Baxter was killed in the shooting, Sgt. Howard died the next day from his injuries. ^{[1] [undefined]}