Dallas Police Department, Texas
End of Watch: Sunday, November 28, 1976
Age: 27
Tour of Duty: 2 years
Badge Number: 3641
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: November 28, 1976
Weapon Used: Handgun; .22 caliber
Suspect Info: Executed in 2004
Officer Robert W. Wood was shot and killed after he and his partner stopped the driver of a vehicle for driving with no headlights in the 3400 block of North Hampton Road. As Officer Wood approached the vehicle, he was shot five times.
A suspect was arrested and sentenced to death for Officer Wood's murder. However, the sentence was overturned 12 years later, and the suspect was released. Another suspect, who had testified against the first as a state's witness, was convicted of an unrelated murder and sentenced to death. Although he had never admitted to Officer Wood's murder, he had provided information about the case to detectives and remained a prime suspect. He was executed for an unrelated murder on June 30, 2004.
Officer Wood was a United States Army Vietnam War veteran and had served with the Dallas Police Department for two years. He was survived by his wife.
He is buried at Carson Cemetery in Ector, Texas.