A former Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer was found not guilty on three of the seven charges levied against him after an investigation surfaced allegations involving two women who had called police for help.
An Indianapolis jury on Aug. 28, 2025, found Myron Leonardo Howard not guilty on one count of rape, criminal confinement and official misconduct of a public servant, in connection with accusations brought forth by a domestic violence victim.
Howard is still facing four charges that stemmed from the investigation, including one count of official misconduct, making an unlawful proposition, public indecency and public nudity.
The Marion County prosecutors initially combined the two investigations into a single case, but a week before the trial, the court severed the charges into two cases, according to Marion County Prosecutor’s Office spokesperson Michael Leffler.
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department fired Howard after the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office filed charges against him in 2024.
When asked for a comment about Howard being found not guilty, IMPD reaffirmed the statements that Police Chief Chris Bailey made when the former officer was initially charged.
“His alleged actions not only violated his sacred oath to our community, but he abused his power and took advantage of a victim when she was most vulnerable. His actions do not represent the brave women and men who serve Indianapolis with integrity every single day. My prayers are with the victim during this difficult time,” Bailey said in 2024.
Howard’s trial of the first investigation
In a two-day trial, the jury heard about the first investigation that began when a domestic violence report was made to Indianapolis police shortly after 11:30 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2024.
Officers had just arrested a woman’s boyfriend on preliminary domestic battery-related charges. After police left the scene, Howard returned to the home, in the 2700 block of Olney Street, according to police. He’s further alleged to have turned off his body-worn camera at the time.
Howard told investigators the two had consensual sex.
After hearing the case, the jury deliberated and the verdict was read at 2:40 a.m., according to WTHR.
More: Fired IMPD officer charged after investigation revealed ‘deeply disturbing’ rape case
Howard’s other case
Howard is still facing charges in connection with the allegation that he had sex with a woman after meeting her while responding to a car crash.
Howard returned to the crash about 15 minutes after leaving and asked if she needed a ride, under the condition that she had sex with him, according to court documents.
The woman said she agreed because she didn’t have another way to get home, but knew it was wrong for a police officer to make such a request.
The woman told investigators that Howard drove her to her workplace at the IndyStar’s Georgetown Road printing facility, where she said they had sex in the parking lot. IndyStar does not generally publish identifying information of victims of sexual assault cases but is providing this detail in full transparency.
Howard also told investigators he’d had sex on duty while working for the Yorktown and Anderson police departments, according to court records.
He worked for the Yorktown Police Department from Aug. 22, 2019, until Dec. 5, 2020, and left for a job with the Anderson Police Department. Howard worked for the Anderson Police Department from Dec. 7, 2020, until Nov. 20, 2022, when he left to work for IMPD.
Noe Padilla is a Public Safety reporter for IndyStar. Contact him at npadilla@indystar.com, follow him on X @1NoePadilla or on Bluesky @noepadilla.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis jury finds former IMPD officer not guilty of rape