Fritz Howard

Deputy Chief Fritz Howard is the Commanding Officer of the LAPD's Special Operations Bureau during Major Crimes from Season 3, “Sweet Revenge” onward. During The Closer and at the beginning of Major Crimes, until his appointment to the LAPD, he was a Special Agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the liaison officer to the LAPD while working as a member of the Organized and Serial Crimes Unit based in the Los Angeles Field Office.

As the Commanding Officer of the Special Operations Bureau, Fritz is responsible for managing the specialized tactical resources of the LAPD. By position, he is also the LAPD's Gang Coordinator, responsible for developing policies and procedures for gang and narcotics enforcement strategies. Chief Howard served as the Acting Assistant Chief of Operations following Asst. Chief Taylor's murder in “White Lies, Part 1” of Major Crimes, Season 5. He returned to lead the Special Operations Bureau at the end of “Shockwave, Part 2”.

Character Information[]

The Closer[]

At the start of The Closer, Fritz is divorced from his former wife, Cindy, and introduced as an old friend of Brenda from her first case.(“The Closer (Pilot)”) At this point, he had been working in L.A. for three years, although he originally trained with the FBI in Washington D.C. Brenda is told she won't be able to obtain DNA results from the LAPD for many weeks, so she contacts associates at the FBI. Fritz notices the results are for her and personally delivers them.

Fritz goes on to provide the Major Crimes Division (formerly the Priority Homicide Division) access to FBI resources through his many contacts. However, this causes some friction between Fritz and Brenda. He stops giving her squad special treatment when his FBI colleagues start making fun of him.(“Homewrecker”) Fritz is later officially designated as the FBI liaison officer to the LAPD after Brenda is put onto the short list for the possible future Chief of Police.(“Jump the Gun”)

Brenda eventually learns from Pope that Fritz, who has been irritable and annoyed with Brenda lately, has been offered a promotion in Washington, DC to command of the FBI's Critical Incident Response Team. Fritz later admits that as a recovering alcoholic who attends AA meetings, he thought that he would never be offered a promotion again but was wrong. However, taking the promotion would have forced them to move to DC along with many other complications and turned it down, although he may be offered another promotion he may want in the future that would force them to discuss their options. Fritz admits he hadn't told Brenda and had been irritable because he was worried about making her choose between him and her job.(“Dead Man's Hand”)

In “High Crimes”, Chief Thomas Delk told Fritz that he had offered Brenda Pope's job as Assistant Chief of Operations, and the next day told Fritz that Brenda hadn't talked to him about the offer at all, perhaps hoping Fritz could "speed up" Brenda's decision making. When discussing the matter with Brenda, Fritz outright admits that he doesn't like Pope who, according to Fritz, still has feelings for Brenda which everyone can see (except Brenda herself). Fritz is also annoyed Brenda is spending more and more time worrying what Pope wants rather than what he wants, which leads to an argument. Eventually Brenda states that she likes her current job and Pope keeping his job is a way to make sure Brenda can keep hers. Fritz notes to Brenda that "that's not going to happen" (Pope keeping his job), and while Brenda has always though of her and Pope as partners, she should start preparing for him being gone. If Brenda doesn't want "to push him over the cliff", if the extra money that would come with the Assistant Chief's job isn't worth it to her, then that's fine but eventually she is going to watch Pope be replaced, and maybe that replacement is someone Brenda can't stand, like Russell Taylor.

Major Crimes[]

Season 1[]

Special Agent Howard (“”) — Special Agent Howard (“The Ecstasy and the Agony”)

In “The Ecstasy and the Agony”, Howard responded as the FBI - LAPD Liaison to a homicide which was being investigated by the Major Crimes Division, along with FBI Special Agent Morris who was the lead investigator on the FBI's part. The victim was an Israeli-born naturalized U.S. citizen who was supposed to give a testimony in federal court over illegal drug trafficking committed by his cousin but, because the victim had not yet testified, he was not under federal protection. The FBI's involvement caused some problems for the LAPD because the victim's wife felt that they had been betrayed by the FBI and therefore didn't want to cooperate. After Capt. Raydor promised the wife that Morris would be kept clear, she started cooperating.

Later, when Raydor found out that the FBI had searched a house owned by the victim's cousin and that they found the same type of weapon that was used to kill the victim, Raydor was furious with the FBI over the fact that they did not tell her that. Morris and Howard told Raydor that if they told her that, they could have jeopardized their two-year investigation into a international drug ring, a risk they could not take. Raydor promised the FBI she would not jeopardize their investigation and hatched a plan to get the cousin out of the house so Detectives Sanchez and Sykes could search it and recover the weapon. The plan was a partial success, they got the cousin out of the house without alerting him of the FBI's investigation but they did not find the weapon. However, when the cousin met a "intuitive life strategist" who had been having an affair with the victim's wife along with his, both the cousin and the victim's wife began cursing each other out, inadvertently giving more evidence to support both the LAPD and the FBI in their cases.

In “Dismissed with Prejudice”, Howard assisted the Major Crimes Division in finding Benito Zapata, an embezzler who was presumably living in Costa Rica. They went over all of the FBI's information on him, even revealing that they have had his wife's emails and phone under surveillance for nearly eight years. When Capt. Raydor wanted to speak to her, she asked Howard to fly her down to LA from Colorado, as the LAPD doesn't have the budget for that but the FBI does, especially when the case is an interest for the FBI as well. At first, Howard didn't want to tip off the wife that she was under surveillance but Raydor reminded him that they've had her under surveillance for a long time without any progress. Fritz eventually agreed to the flight after some phone calls to his bosses.

When the wife arrived at LA, Fritz picked her up at the airport and brought her to the PAB. She revealed that her husband had been having multiple affairs, so if they can locate a woman who went missing around the same time he did, they'll find him. The squad then realized that their original murder victim could fit that description and eventually find out that the $1.8 million Zapata embezzled was in an account held by their victim, not Zapata, which is why the money was never recovered. They also surmise that the reason Zapata can't be found is because he's dead. The killer turns out to be the husband of the original victim who had been initially cleared of her murder due to Zapata's blood being at the crime scene. With the help of the man's daughter, Zapata's body is located and the killer takes a deal of life in prison rather than face trial and possible death penalty for murdering Zapata. In the end, the LAPD got their killer and the FBI recovered the embezzled money.

In “Long Shot”, Fritz first appeared at the PAB after a state judge was assassinated, believed to have been collateral damage in an attempt to kill the new LA Superintendent of Schools and Fritz was said to have been arranging protection for the man and his family. Later, it was discovered that the judge was the original target all along. The judge had 23 pending cases and Fritz wanted to know if any of the cases were drug-related, but unfortunately the files didn't say. Det. Sykes did google the judge's name and found out he was about to preside over a case which would have most likely opened the door for legal marijuana cultivation in California. This raised some eyebrows with the Major Crimes Division as Fritz just happened to ask about the topic. Fritz tells the squad that he just had a hunch, but if he could examine the bullet that killed the Judge more closely, he could probably tell them something "more definitive." He also requests that the Major Crimes detectives' don't call for a Deputy District Attorney just yet as the U.S. Attorney's Office might want to take the case.

Later, Fritz returned to the PAB with the information that the bullet came from the same weapon that was used to kill a city councilman and a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent, meaning the case now belonged to the FBI. Against orders, the MCD continued investigating the case and eventually located a witness who could identify the killer, whose identity was unknown as he never leaves any trace of himself. The FBI joined the LAPD on a sting operation during which they hoped to catch their killer. Fritz and the other FBI agent, Goodwin, make it clear to the LAPD that they want the killer alive, hoping he would turn on his bosses in the cartel. After the LAPD moved the witness' vehicle to a more secure location in order to force a move from the killer, the ruse works. When their witness goes to his car, the hidden killer shoots him before being confronted by the LAPD and Fritz. When the killer points his weapon at them, they are forced to fatally shoot him. It was revealed that the hoodie-wearing man the killer shot was actually Agent Goodwin in disguise, sent out to draw the killer out. Goodwin is still alive as he was wearing a bulletproof vest. They are unable to identify the shooter, though Fritz believes they will eventually figure it out. The witness is also taken into Witness Protection for his own safety and Fritz said he would be personally handling the case for the FBI.

Season 3[]

In “Do Not Disturb”, Fritz is shown to be worried about politics while investigating a murder connected to an Indian diplomat. His adherence to policy causes him great annoyance by the squad with Lt. Provenza making snide comments about looking for clues and Fritz kissing the diplomat's ass. However, when the diplomat assaults his daughter inside the PAB, Fritz intervenes and punches the diplomat twice, causing him to fall on the floor and leading the diplomat to threaten Fritz about getting him fired, but Fritz fires back by stating that he can have the diplomat deported for an "act of terrorism inside an American police station", as well as charging him with murder, something he can be arrested for in India even if his diplomatic immunity could maybe protect him in the U.S.

During “Two Options”, Fritz works side-by-side with the LAPD to rescue two kidnapped children and their mother from the husband, who had kidnapped the three and murdered his parents who were in witness protection. Fritz insisted on leading the charge with SWAT instead of Andy Flynn, telling him to trust him as he could do "what needs to be done." During the raid, the hostages were rescued and Fritz killed the suspect who was firing at them with a submachine gun. After the raid, Taylor offers him the job of Deputy Chief in charge of the Special Operations Bureau. According to Taylor, at this point Fritz had been in the FBI for twenty-seven years and could retire with full benefits to start a second career with the LAPD. Fritz promised to consider the idea, but wasn't sure if he would take it due to Brenda being offered a new job in Washington, D.C.

In “Sweet Revenge”, Fritz has agreed to take the job as Deputy Chief of SOB and is at the point of retiring from the FBI. Before he fully retires, Fritz aids the LAPD in solving one more case as an FBI agent. At the end of the episode, Fritz suffers a heart attack and has Tao secretly take him to the hospital to be treated. He is told by his doctor to reduce the stress in his life and to change his diet if he wants to recover fully. He is also told that he should think about retiring or taking disability leave because going back to work could possibly risk his life. He ignores these suggestions and returns to work wearing a pacemaker and eating blood thinners to reduce the clotting in his arteries, though he keeps this secret from all but Tao. He has not even told Brenda about his heart attack or that he has a pacemaker.(“Zoo Story”)

Deputy Chief Howard in a Class A uniform

Starting in “Zoo Story”, Fritz has officially retired from the FBI and has been appointed to the LAPD at the rank of Deputy Chief, assigned to command the Special Operations Bureau (SOB). As the commanding officer of the Special Operations Bureau, Howard is responsible for managing the specialized tactical resources of the LAPD. By position, Fritz is also the LAPD's Gang Coordinator, responsible for developing policies and procedures for gang and narcotics enforcement strategies as well as for providing citywide oversight of geographical area Gang Impact Teams and geographical bureau Gang Coordinators.

Fritz is immediately thrown into the deep end when an officer under his command (working undercover) is kidnapped by human traffickers, something Cmdr. Ann McGinnis takes very personally. Fritz is able to mostly keep McGinnis calm and support Major Crimes with his FBI contacts and SOB resources. When the LAPD eventually locates the kidnappers' home base and they find one of the kidnappers, McGinnis goes a bit overboard and tries to forcibly coerce the kidnapper into giving up the location of the truck carrying the missing officer but it appears to have no effect and could jeopardize their entire case. Fritz orders McGinnis multiple times to let go of the suspect, which she ignores, until Fritz physically removes her from the situation. Captain Raydor was eventually able to get the truck's location from the suspect under the guise of a deal and the officer is saved, leaving Fritz pleased.(“Zoo Story”)

In “Trial by Fire”, a notorious gang member is acquitted of charges, and in the aftermath, Fritz has deployed approximately 50% of his uniformed crime suppression units into gang neighborhoods in order to keep the situation from escalating into a fully blown gang war. When the gang member is found burned to death in his car, Fritz arrives at the scene to tell Major Crimes that he is ordering the crime scene to be cleared in five minutes, against Capt. Raydor's objections and despite there still being forensics work being done, as he is worried that word getting out of the murder will cause the gang war to boil over. Fritz is, however, able to give Major Crimes information about a possible witness though he bars Major Crimes from releasing the name of their victim, once again wanting to contain a possible gang war. During the episode, Lt. Tao is shown to be concerned for Fritz's well-being, at first telling him "stay calm Chief, stay calm" when he get agitated at the crime scene, later giving Fritz his chair in Major Crimes' electronics room and telling Fritz to "take it easy", confusing his colleagues.

In “Special Master Part One” and “Special Master Part Two”, Fritz deploys SWAT to support the Sheriff's Department when Phillip Stroh is transferred from prison to the Criminal Courts Building for his 16th special master hearing with Judge Stephen Schaeffer. Fritz is less than pleased with DDA Emma Rios, as he believes the transfers pose a risk of him escaping and as far as he can see, the hearings have not provided anything of value to the LAPD. Later Fritz deploys SIS and other SOB elements to support Major Crimes in searching vacant homes believed to be locations of interest for their serial killer & arsonist. After Chief Taylor releases to the press their information about the suspect's vehicle, against the wishes of Capt. Raydor who fears that their suspect will dump it, Fritz tells Sharon that while he has nearly every available SIS officer out on the street talking with prostitutes, they can't reach them all and releasing the information could save somebody's life. After Stroh escapes from custody, Fritz deploys SWAT along with Cmdr. McGinnis to take him down when a report comes through that he is trying to buy a rifle. Unfortunately it turned out to be another one of Stroh's schemes, as he had hired a random guy off the street to do the purchase in order to lead the LAPD astray. During the episode, Fritz is also seen measuring his pulse.

Season 5[]

In “White Lies, Part 1”, Fritz was assigned as the Acting Assistant Chief of Operations after the Los Angeles County Courthouse shoot-out which left Assistant Chief Taylor, among others, dead. Although having taken the position, he noted to the Major Crimes detectives that he had no interest in being permanently promoted to Assistant Chief and being Russell Taylor's replacement. As the Acting Assistant Chief of Operations, Fritz is responsible for managing and coordinating all matters related to field law enforcement, special operations, and detective operations throughout the city.

Although from this point onward Fritz referred to as the Acting Assistant Chief, his rank insignia still identified him as a Deputy Chief. From “Heart Failure” onward, he had the badge of an Assistant Chief but still had only two stars on his collars. It should be noted that the real LAPD does not recognize acting-ranks and therefore the correct way to denote Fritz's new position would have been "Deputy Chief Fritz Howard, Acting Director, Office of Operations" and not "Acting Assistant Chief Fritz Howard".

Acting Assistant Chief Howard (note the Deputy Chief's rank insignia but an Assistant Chief's badge)

In “Heart Failure”, Fritz is responsible for overseeing the departments active shooter response training. It also became apparent that Deputy Chief Winnie Davis is not very accepting of his position as the Acting Assistant Chief, claiming that the department lacks firm leadership under his command, most likely because of his history in the FBI and the fact that the department would not accept an "outsider" like him as the Assistant Chief on a permanent basis. This was further confirmed in “Quid Pro Quo”, when Capt. Raydor and Cmdr. Mason were discussing their possible promotion to Assistant Chief, and Mason only mentioned himself, Raydor, and Davis to be in the race to Assistant Chief. They reason that if Fritz was even under consideration for the position he would have already been permanently promoted.

In “Intersection”, Howard assigned the Major Crimes Division an investigation into a fatal hit-and-run. According to Fritz, Los Angeles is having a war between cars and bikes, becoming the number one in the nation's hit-and-runs. Because of this, the LAPD's Traffic Division's are overwhelmed with cases, resulting in too many drivers getting off scot-free and too many children being killed. Fritz wants to turn that around, and starting from that night, the hit-and-run situation in LA has become a "major crime." He also monitors the investigation closely and wants to keep it classified as a hit-and-run, even though Major Crimes thinks it's a homicide. Fritz states that just because MCD usually investigates homicides, they shouldn't jump to that conclusion every time. This policy caused some frustration in the division because the victim's parents were too devastated to come in for an interview, and because they were publicly calling the crime a hit-and-run, they need to wait until they are emotionally strong enough to talk, something they don't have to deal with when dealing with homicides.

In “Shockwave, Part 1”, Fritz is at a leadership conference in Charlotte, NC, resulting in Deputy Chief Winnie Davis coordinating the efforts of all the divisions of the LAPD. After the bombing at the end of the episode, Chief Pope recalls Fritz to LA in while Davis takes his place.(“Shockwave, Part 2”) Fritz aids the squad in stopping Cristian Ortiz and survives the bombing of the Major Crimes murder room. Afterwards, Fritz takes Sharon to the Assistant Chief's office where it is revealed that Leo Mason got the promotion and has been assigned as the Assistant Chief of Operations. Chief Mason allowed Fritz to retain his job as Deputy Chief in charge of SOB, something Fritz is obviously content with. Before departing, Fritz congratulates Sharon, presumably aware of her promotion to Commander moments later.

NOTE: Acting and interim positions are temporary, and the person occupying the position on an acting or interim basis remains in the position only until confirmed to be the replacement or until replaced, at which time they return to their original position.

Season 6[]

In “By Any Means, Part 3”, Fritz takes part in the show Major Crimes puts on for Phillip Stroh and his accomplice Dylan Baxter. As part of their plan, Fritz claims that he's pulling back LAPD resources, including the security detail on Gwendolyn Stroh and to be reducing the detail on Rusty Beck and Gustavo Wallace. Fritz and the detectives "argue" about Fritz's strategy which puts Rusty and Gus into greater danger. As part of the show, Provenza tells the departing Fritz to "save your apologies for the dead" and Andy and Tao note that Fritz is not pulling back the detail on Brenda, Fritz's wife (even though he has no control over that as Brenda's security is provided by the DA's Bureau of Investigation rather than LAPD). Having watched the confrontation, Stroh buys Fritz's performance completely and grows worried as he had wanted the LAPD's resources stretched thin while Fritz is consolidating them. Fritz later prepares his forces in case Dylan takes the bait.

In “By Any Means, Part 4”, Fritz insists on sending in SOB when Dylan is located, but makes it clear to Provenza that he wants Stroh dead and will not allow him to escape. During the standoff at Dylan's house, Fritz uses a bullhorn to order the young man to surrender, resulting in Dylan panicking, opening fire on the officers and getting shot to death by Tao. After Dylan's dossier points to the airport as Stroh's escape plan, Fritz leads his forces alongside the vast majority of the LAPD to surround the airport in waiting for Stroh's arrival. Mason ultimately gives Fritz full command of the situation instead of Provenza, seeing it as an SOB situation instead of Major Crimes. Following Stroh's death, Fritz tells Rusty that Brenda had a hard time processing the news as well. Appearing to realize that Rusty killed Stroh instead of Provenza, Fritz makes a point of reassuring Rusty that Stroh's death was justified. At the end of the episode, Fritz joins in Julio's promotion ceremony and is included in the list of people that Provenza gives as the people who will ensure that Major Crimes keeps bringing down killers in the future.

Officer-involved shootings[]

Frank (“Time Bomb”)
Joe Meyers (“Help Wanted”)
Paul Collier (“Two Options”)

Personality[]

Honest and with integrity, Fritz Howard is presented as different from Brenda Johnson personality-wise and the opposite of her manipulative, sometimes ruthless ex-lover, Will Pope. His kindness, especially when it comes to Brenda, is seen in the first episode “The Closer (Pilot)” when he personally delivers her much needed DNA results. At times, it is also seen as a fault, however, as his desire to please Brenda shows he is willing to blur professional boundaries and even risk his career to help her close her cases. Once he began dating Brenda, he is patient in tolerating her workaholic behavior which sometimes keeps them apart and is willing to wait hours or days for them to be together.

Fritz does get annoyed with Brenda, sometimes, especially when their work crosses division lines and she does not uphold her end of the deal.

His patience is demonstrated when he delays his moving-in with Brenda, so her mother does not find out. Although he does become irritated that he is not able to meet both Brenda's parents after they have moved in together and why they must use separate phones. He also does not like being left to entertain and cater to her parents when they come to visit due to the perceived hostility that he will receive from her father. However, Fritz and his future father-in-law do soon establish a congenial relationship.

The revelation of having had two DUI infractions, which Brenda only finds out about by accident is a serious shock to Brenda as Fritz never told her about the incidents or his alcoholism or his membership in AA. His angry outburst explaining his side shows a different side of Fritz that viewers have not seen previously.

When Commander McGinnis asks if Fritz is a bureaucrat, the Major Crimes squad tells her he's not too bad — for an FBI agent. Despite this, at times Fritz is shown to be worried about policy such as during “Do Not Disturb” when dealing with an Indian diplomat. During that encounter, Fritz's "help" hindered the investigation more than helped due to his adherence to policy. This led to snide comments from Provenza about how they are actually searching for clues unlike him and that while he's been kissing the diplomat's ass, the diplomat is not doing the same, causing them issues. However, despite this, Fritz proved himself to be willing to go against the rules by detaining the diplomat with force when he attacked his daughter in the police station despite threats to his job.

Relationships[]

Brenda Leigh Johnson[]

Fritz and Brenda's romance blossoms in Season 1 of The Closer and becomes more serious during Season 2 in which they decide to move in together in “Blue Blood” and later marry in “Double Blind”.

After being attacked in “Fantasy Date”, whilst investigating a victim's house, Brenda phones Fritz and is unable to conceal her shock from him. He subsequently shows up at the Parker Center to take her home and take care of her for the night, showing an early insight into his feelings for her.

With the theme of Season Two being partnerships, Fritz and Brenda's relationship slowly becomes stronger despite being occasionally strained, due to Brenda's commitment to her work and tactic of delaying personal matters in favor for her cases. This is seen when the arrival of Brenda's mother, Willie Rae, delays Fritz being able to move-in with Brenda. He has to keep all his possessions in a U-Haul trailer parked outside Brenda's house, so that her mother does not find out resulting in them both having to constantly cover their tracks about their relationship, much to Fritz's embarrassment in “Mom Duty”. Despite this, Brenda's mother reveals that she knows of their relationship and approves and promises not to tell Brenda's father about it, much to Brenda's delight.

Brenda's mother, Willie Rae, being introduced to her boyfriend, Fritz Howard.

On Brenda's birthday in “Aftertaste”, he sends her a huge bouquet of flowers accompanied with a card which is read by Provenza, "Happy Birthday. You're 40 years young and I love you."

In “Grave Doubt”, after accidentally picking up the wrong phone, Fritz ends up talking to Brenda's father, infuriating Brenda. She is fearful of her father's reaction and is later resolved to read in his letter that it is of forgiveness and happiness for her, rather than anger.

At the start of Season 3, Fritz along with the rest of the squad are increasingly alarmed by Brenda's symptoms that suggest she is gravely ill. Despite refusing to see a doctor, in “Four to Eight”, Fritz eventually convinces her to go suspecting that she is pregnant, something which terrifies Brenda.

Instead, she is diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, and will be able to have children, much to the excitement of her parents, especially her mother. Fritz comforts Brenda after learning her diagnosis, by which it is reversible through means of ovarian drilling, and ensures that she will recover fully. Following this, he proposes to her in “Manhunt” saying he cannot imagine life without her.

Later on, in “'Til Death Do Us Part One”, while trying to arrange multi-car insurance, Brenda finds out that Fritz has two D.U.I's from some years earlier and is a recovering alcoholic, contradicting his earlier admission that he is "allergic" to alcohol.

He is called "Fritzi" by Brenda as a nickname.

Fritz knows of Brenda and Will Pope's affair in Washington, D.C. His relationship with Pope, whom he sometimes sarcastically refers to as "the Pope", is awkward and uncomfortable. This eases up somewhat. During Fritz's employment with the LAPD, Pope has recognized his abilities as a distinguished and respected leader enough to appoint him as the Acting Assistant Chief of Operations in Season 5 of Major Crimes, even though some other members of the command staff (most notably Deputy Chief Winnie Davis) were very displeased with the Chief's decision.

In Season 3 of Major Crimes, Fritz tells the team that Brenda is considering a new job in Washington, DC, but given his new position in the LAPD, its unclear what Brenda did about the job or how their marriage was affected. He also now hides a heart attack from his wife and his need for a pacemaker. Dialogue in later episodes shows that the two remain married and that Brenda remained in Los Angeles with Fritz.

Family[]

Fritz has one sister, Claire, an unmarried self-described psychic. She helps Brenda with a case in Season 4 “Fate Line”.

Fritz's parents died before he met Brenda. They left their estate to Fritz and Claire. Fritz used much of his share of the money to pay a retainer to Brenda's top-notch lawyer, Gavin, when she was being sued.

Trivia[]

During his time in the LAPD, Fritz can be seen in multiple uniforms during his day-to-day activities. When he coordinates and takes part in special operations, he can be seen in the Special Operations Bureau's Class B tactical uniform, with focus on durability. It also features the patch of the SOB and subdued rank insignia. The Class B uniform has lately become his preferred uniform of choice. During more administrative duties and formal events, like when he was the Acting Assistant Chief, he can be seen wearing a Class A everyday uniform, either with long sleeves or short sleeves.
Fritz, as the Deputy Chief of the Special Operations Bureau, was said to have a yearly salary of approximately $250,000.(“Two Options”) For reference, in 2010, the Los Angeles City Controller posted the annual salaries of every L.A. city employee, including police officers. In that listing, LAPD Deputy Chiefs were paid between €195,708–$218,092 (depending on assignment).
In “Foreign Affairs”, when Howard was communicating with one of his airships, he used the call sign 4 King 62. This is different from what would actually be used, as the call sign 4K, or King as it is known in the LAPD's phonetic alphabet, is assigned to the Robbery-Homicide Division. The numerical designation, in this case 62, would be assigned by the RHD Commanding Officer to a member of his/her division.
- In the Major Crimes Universe, all call signs in the 4 King 60 -series are issued to the Major Crimes Division. Based on divisional ranks and seniority, the call sign 4 King 62 would belong to Lt. Andy Flynn.
- The actual call sign for the Commanding Officer of the Special Operations Bureau would be Staff 2 D, or David, as it is known in the LAPD.
On multiple occasions as the Commanding Officer of SOB, Fritz was seen acting more like the SWAT commander, who is a Lieutenant, rather than the Commanding Officer of an entire bureau. By nature, the position of Bureau Commanding Officer is mostly administrative; they do not often respond to tactical or investigative situations, except when requested to do so by the Incident Commander.
- Some of the reasons the Commanding Officer might respond are, for example: officer-involved shooting, serious injury to an officer, major media presence, etc.
- Even when the Commanding Officer responds to these situations, they usually do not take command of the scene (i.e. take over as the Incident Commander) and are present only in a support capacity.

Appearances[]

The Closer[]

Fritz appeared in nearly every episode of The Closer and therefore they are not listed here.

Major Crimes[]

Season 1[]

Season 2[]

Season 3[]

Season 4[]

Season 5[]

Season 6[]

“By Any Means, Part 3”
“By Any Means, Part 4”

Gallery[]

Gallery: Fritz Howard

**CHARACTERS**
THE CLOSER
Main characters:	Brenda Leigh Johnson • Fritz Howard • Will Pope • Louie Provenza • Andy Flynn • Michael Tao • David Gabriel • Julio Sanchez • Irene Daniels • Buzz Watson • Russell Taylor
Recurring characters:	Sharon Raydor • Dr. Fernando Morales • Andrea Hobbs • Kendall
MAJOR CRIMES
Main characters:	Sharon Raydor • Louie Provenza • Andy Flynn • Michael Tao • Julio Sanchez • Amy Sykes • Buzz Watson • Rusty Beck • Russell Taylor • Wes Nolan • Leo Mason • Camila Paige
Recurring characters:	Fritz Howard • Dr. Fernando Morales • Andrea Hobbs • Kendall • Emma Rios • Robby Oderno • Dr. Joe Bowman • Chuck Cooper • Ann McGinnis • Gustavo Wallace • Craig Richwood • Steven Grove