LOVELAND, Colo. – A Loveland police officer was arrested Thursday in connection with an alleged abuse of a child earlier this month.
Wilbert Howard, 53, was arrested shortly before 2 p.m. for allegedly abusing a child on Nov. 2 at a home in the City of Fort Collins following a preliminary investigation by the police department.
In a news release, a spokesperson for the department said Howard was off-duty at the time of the alleged incident, adding the incident did not have “any connection with Howard’s official duty as a police officer.”
Howard, who’s been with the force for 17 years, was booked into the Larimer County Jail on charges of second-degree assault, child abuse, and a crime of violence enhancement.
He has been placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation.
The suspect is the second Loveland police officer to be arrested this week. On Monday, another Loveland police officer was arrested after he allegedly sexually assaulted a teenager at a park over the summer.
