Kay Howard

Detective/Sergeant Kay Howard
Det./Sgt. Katherine 'Kay' Howard
First appearance	January 31, 1993 (1x01, "Gone for Goode")
Last appearance	May 16, 1997 (5x22, Strangers and Other Partners") (HLOTS) February 13, 2000 Homicide: The Movie
Created by	Tom Fontana
Portrayed by	Melissa Leo
Information
Nickname(s)	Howie
Gender	Female
Occupation	Fugitive Squad Sergeant Homicide Sergeant (Formerly) Homicide Detective (Formerly)
Title	Sergeant Detective
Family	Wesley (father); Carrie (sister); Josh (brother)
Significant other(s)	ASA Ed Danvers (Seasons 1 - 3)
Nationality	American

Katherine "Kay" Howard is a fictional character in the American TV series Homicide: Life on the Street. She was played by actress Melissa Leo. In the first two seasons of the show her character was the only female detective or member of the main cast. However, NBC president Warren Littlefield felt that the lack of other female characters was alienating the audience, so Megan Russert was added to the show. It was stated in a special edition of Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets, the non-fiction book that the film was based on, that the character of Kay Howard was based on Baltimore Police detective Rich Garvey. Howard is also influenced by Detective Bertina Silver, referred to as 'Bert' by her colleagues, thought by many in the unit to be the exception to the 'Secretaries-with-guns' female officer stereotype.

In the Season 3 episode "The Last of the Watermen", Howard visits the small coastal oyster fishing town where she was brought up. Though not actually stated this town is presumably in Talbot County on the Chesapeake Bay coast; her brother Josh lives there. She also has a sister, Carrie, who appeared in a Season 4 episode (also played by Leo, under the pseudonym Margaret May).

Having been a homicide detective since April 1991, Kay was generally portrayed as a tough female detective. She is not entirely hardened by her job, however, and at times expresses disbelief that seemingly good people can do terrible things. As a detective she is thorough, realistic, and generally has among the highest clearance rates in the squad. Her high rate of success is important to her as she feels that, as the only woman in the department, she needs to prove herself. Megan Russert would later chide her for this tendency. Despite her generally rational approach, Howard occasionally indulges in magical thinking, feeling that some things "transcend" logic. This includes varied superstitions, which she displays at work, and the idea that the ghost of a victim had aided her in solving a case.

During Season 3, she and fellow detectives Stanley Bolander and Beau Felton are shot while trying to serve an arrest warrant on a suspect. Howard is struck in the heart, but eventually makes a full recovery and returns to work. Her family comes in from the coast to visit her in the hospital; her father is especially concerned over how little information the doctors are willing to share.