183:. In season 3, Assistant Chief of Operations Russell Taylor suggests Howard for the job of Deputy Chief of the Special Operations Bureau of the LAPD, pointing out that he is an excellent candidate whose 27 years with the FBI means that he could easily retire with his full pension and start a second career. After helping resolve a hostage situation, Howard ultimately accepts the job and spends his last days as an FBI agent helping solve a case, before officially taking up the job, However, Howard has a heart attack that he keeps secret from all but Tao, including his wife Brenda. This heart attack requires him to wear an external pacemaker.
147:. Fritz not only provides her with access to FBI resources and inside information when local resources are unavailable, he also provides emotional grounding for the passionate Brenda, who can get overly caught up in her investigations. He later continues to aid the Major Crimes Division (MCD) as their FBI liaison after Johnson leaves MCD and, during season 3 of
163:, he would do practically anything for Brenda. He is also very patient and tolerates her work addiction; for example, he is willing to wait hours or even days for her to wrap up a case so that he can see her. When Brenda's mother came to town as the two were moving in together, Fritz suffered a charade for Brenda's sake, and kept all his possessions in a
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During season 5, Deputy Chief Howard temporarily serves as Acting
Assistant Chief of Operations, after Taylor is murdered. In this duty, Howard continues to work alongside the MCD while the LAPD works on a permanent replacement for Taylor. When Commander Leo Mason is promoted to Assistant Chief of
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so her mother wouldn't find out. He is extremely kind, almost to a fault, when it comes to Brenda, and he is so supportive and loving to her that he might even overstep professional bounds and risk his career to help her with cases. He endures ribbing from his fellow agents as a result of the
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Operations, Howard is able to resume his preferred role as Deputy Chief of the
Special Operations Bureau. He is also aware of Sharon's impending promotion to the open Commander rank and congratulates her as the last person to call Sharon "Captain".
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assistance he gives to the Major Crimes
Division (MCD), formerly the Priority Homicide Division, the LAPD division headed by Brenda. In the third season Brenda learns that Fritz had two
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Deputy Chief. Fritz is an old friend of Brenda's and has known her since at least her time in
Washington, D.C. Fritz and Brenda were married in the last episode of Season Four of
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Extremely smart and well-liked, Howard has many law enforcement connections and knows how to track down information for criminal cases. He is a true gentleman. Throughout
176:, when asked if Howard was a bureaucrat or "one of the good guys", the squad stated he was one of the good guys and not so bad for an FBI agent.
151:, he retires from the FBI to become Deputy Chief of Special Operations Bureau, covering LAPD's SWAT, K-9, Air, Mounted and other special units.
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Academy in
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some years earlier, and is a recovering alcoholic. In
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