Cop ran red light, stop signs during unauthorized pursuit

While OPA suggested suspension, Chief Diaz merely reprimanded Ofc. Caleb Howard, who was previously suspended for choking another officer's son at an SPD party.

Officer Caleb Howard sits idle on a bicycle, observing a demonstration. (SPD Watch)

Ofc. Caleb Howard drove dangerously while chasing a stolen vehicle last year and continued to do so after a supervisor ordered him to break off the pursuit, according to an OPA report released last week. After a failed attempt to stop the vehicle, Howard followed it onto Rainier Ave and encountered heavy traffic.

The vehicle was driving erratically and crossing into the oncoming traffic lane:

Per policy, Howard asked dispatch to contact his supervisor, Sgt. Christopher Toman for authorization. The car struck another vehicle and continued fleeing. Toman ordered him to terminate the pursuit.

Howard continued to pursue but deactivated his emergency lights and siren. He radioed to Toman, “Sarge, we’re doing about twenty-five right now heading towards [Martin Luther King Way.] Do you want me to keep eyes or turn around?”

Sgt. Toman replied, “If she’s driving outside normal traffic patterns, terminate.” The vehicle continued to drive dangerously, and so did Howard.

At one point, the car was driving on the wrong side of MLK, and Howard passed through the intersection, narrowly missing two pedestrians who ran through the crosswalk to avoid getting hit.

The OPA listed multiple examples of Howard’s hazardous driving that followed Toman’s order to terminate:

• Crossed double-yellow lines on S Alaska Street approaching Martin Luther King Way

• Partially stopped in the intersection of S Alaska Street and Martin Luther King Way, faced westbound in an eastbound lane

• Failed to appropriately yield to pedestrians with a right of way at a crosswalk on Martin Luther King Way

• Ran a red light while turning left from Martin Luther King Way onto S Edmunds Street

• Ran a stop sign at S Edmunds Street and 39th Avenue South

• Entered a traffic circle in the wrong direction

The OPA report also notes that Howard failed to communicate with dispatch and his supervisor properly throughout the encounter. He did not notify dispatch that he had already initiated a pursuit when he asked for authorization from Toman. He also failed to provide “meaningful updates” about the car’s behavior and appeared to downplay how dangerous it was driving.

Though OPA recommended a disciplinary range of one to three days suspension, Chief Adrian Diaz chose to issue a written reprimand—the second-lowest form of discipline.

This is light, given Howard’s disciplinary history. Howard was previously criminally investigated and suspended for 30 days for throttling his fellow officer’s teenage son during a drunken wrestling match at a backyard party. Howard punched the boy’s father in the jaw when he tried to intervene. He also attempted to give alcohol to the officer’s underage daughter and sexually harassed her. The court granted him deferred prosecution.

Howard made nearly $170,000 in 2022.