I Was the Police Chief of the Virgin Islands — I Was Shot and Almost Killed | Chris Howell Pt. 2

Locked In with Ian Bick

Ian Bick

Society & Culture

4.8 • 745 Ratings

🗓️ 8 April 2026

⏱️ 181 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Chris Howell returns to Locked In with Ian Bick for Part 2, diving deeper into his rise from a DEA task force investigator in the U.S. Virgin Islands to eventually becoming Deputy Chief and then Chief of Police. In this episode, Chris breaks down the reality of crime, corruption, and violence in the islands, where homicide rates have historically reached around 50 per 100,000 people—several times higher than the U.S. average . He shares what it was like leading law enforcement in one of the most challenging environments in the country, dealing with constant threats against his life, internal corruption, and the pressure of trying to control rising violence. Chris also opens up about the moment it all came to a head when he was shot in a near-fatal attack that ultimately ended his career. _____________________________________________ #Cops #PoliceChief #TrueCrime #Violence #CrimeStory #LawEnforcement #LockedInPodcast #realstories _____________________________________________ Watch part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atbgH6Ypvas _____________________________________________ Connect with Chris Howell: Email: howellvipd@gmail.com _____________________________________________ Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick: https://www.instagram.com/ian_bick/?hl=en https://ianbick.com/ _____________________________________________ Shop Locked In Merch: http://www.ianbick.com/shop _____________________________________________ Timestamps: 00:00 Shot in the Line of Duty (Full Story) 00:19 Meet Chris Howell: Police Chief Background 01:00 Becoming Police Chief in the Virgin Islands 02:21 Corruption Inside the Department 04:30 First Days as Deputy Chief 06:01 Extreme Homicide Rate in the Virgin Islands 10:54 Baptism by Fire as Police Chief 11:24 Crisis Mode: Press Conference & Early Challenges 12:44 Building Trust & Finding His Role 14:40 High-Profile Cases & Major Investigations 17:04 Broken Evidence Room & System Failures 19:19 Destroying Illegal Firearms & Cleaning House 21:41 Building a Police Task Force Team 23:23 Recruitment Struggles & Key Officers 26:40 Street Operations & Crime Crackdowns 28:31 Domestic Violence Calls & Frontline Policing 32:42 Broken Windows Policing Strategy 36:20 Public Perception & Community Response 38:50 Human Trafficking Sting Operation 41:40 Police Corruption & Internal Investigations 45:47 Living Under Threat as Police Chief 51:16 Conversations with Drug Traffickers 53:11 Violence & Homicide Culture Explained 01:01:20 Crime Reduction Strategies & Leadership 01:12:30 Running the Department & Frustrations 01:20:00 Internal Enemies & Paranoia in Leadership 01:26:21 Cold Case: Fallen Officer Investigation 01:38:41 Major Drug Raid & Takedown 01:46:18 Trauma Training & Real Police Work 01:53:32 Losing Officers & Ongoing Violence 01:58:39 Corrupt Officers Exposed 02:01:44 Crime Wave & Rising Violence 02:07:36 Robberies & Escalating Danger 02:13:42 The Night He Was Shot (Play-by-Play) 02:27:54 Surviving the Shooting & Recovery 02:35:14 Rehab & Life After Being Shot 02:44:07 Ironman Comeback Story 02:50:05 Justice System Failures & Aftermath 02:56:12 Leadership Lessons & No Regrets 02:57:40 Final Thoughts on Policing & Corruption To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/LockedInWithIanBicka Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:28.9	while stocks last.
0:30.1	They began firing rounds from that AK-47 into my door. First round comes to the door, it hits
0:35.3	my left forearm, and my left forearm explodes. A second round comes, it hits me in the back.
0:41.3	I immediately jam on the gas and the vehicle's unresponsive.
0:45.3	I was like, I'm dead. I just died.
0:48.3	My name is Chris Howell. I did 20 years with the Virgin Islands Police Department,
0:51.3	14 years with the DEA height of task force,
0:55.6	and I did from 2009 until 2012 as a chief of police. Chris Howell returns to the show after
1:02.8	serving as chief of police in the Virgin Islands, where he dealt with extreme levels of violence,
1:08.4	corruption, and constant threats on his life until it all came to a head when he was shot in a near fatal attack that ended his career.
1:20.6	So I spent 14 years assigned to DEA doing drug trafficking investigations.
1:26.6	And then in 2009 my former partner he he went to work
1:35.0	with the governor on his governor the governor's dignitary protection detail he would
1:40.3	been assigned with me over at DEA for most of my time there as well.
1:45.0	And then the governor had approached him about me becoming the chief.
1:51.0	And then over time, it turned into the deputy chief is what they wanted me to initially do.
	...

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