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Officer Wood, 1995 Officer of the Year

Officer Robert Wood was selected as 1995 Officer of the Year. Receiving this award was all the more extraordinary because Officer Wood has only been with the Department one year, after having served two years as a deputy with the Cass County Sheriff’s Office. During his first year of service as a Bellevue Police Officer, Bob has exemplified those personal traits and characteristics of devotion to duty, community involvement, and professionalism that separate outstanding officers from the norm.

Officer Wood’s lieutenant has described Bob as one of the most well-rounded, knowledgeable, hard working, and well-respected officers with whom he has worked. Officer Wood completed the field training program in May of this year and was described as a quick learner. He was assigned to C Shift where he immediately became one of the top producers and was particularly aggressive in enforcing DUI laws. Officer Wood possesses exceptional investigative skills and a thorough knowledge of criminal statutes as evidenced by his handling of criminal complaints and the arrests that he has made. Bob’s teammates have given him high marks for his great attitude, job knowledge, dependability, and 110% work ethic.

In addition to his regular assignments, Officer Wood has recently been accepted to the department’s SWAT team. He has also actively participated in the department’s wellness program and stays in very good shape. The following are some of Officer Wood’s work accomplishments this year.

In February, while a recruit in field training, Officer Wood worked a theft case in which three men stole merchandise from Payless Cashways. Wood and his training officer gathered descriptions of the men, their pick-up truck, and the merchandise that was taken. The training officer knew a possible suspect based on the physical description of one of the men and the truck. Wood and the training officer went to the suspect’s residence and interviewed family members. While there, Officer Wood noticed items lying on a table in plain view that matched the description of the stolen merchandise. Permission was obtained to search the residence and additional stolen merchandise was recovered. The suspects were later arrested.

In May, Officer Wood was dispatched to the Brent Village Apartments because someone was prowling vehicles in the parking lot. Wood searched the lot on foot, interrupting a theft from a vehicle, and then pursued the suspect radioing his location, the direction of the pursuit, and description of the suspect. Other officers apprehended the suspect several blocks away thanks to Wood’s detailed broadcast. Wood then obtained a confession from the suspect and information about his accomplice.

In June, Officer Wood assisted another officer with a traffic stop. The driver seemed nervous and the officers obtained permission to search the vehicle. Officer Wood patted down the driver and found a significant amount of methamphetamine in the driver’s waistband. The meth was recently manufactured, and an investigation was started to determine its origin. The driver was arrested on multiple charges.

The next night, Officer Wood stopped a vehicle and noticed the odor of burnt marijuana. During his investigation, Wood recovered a small smoking pipe, and then a large baggie of marijuana, and eventually small packets of methamphetamine. The suspect was arrested and then became a confidential informant, assisting with further drug investigations.

In August, Officer Wood received a letter of thanks from a family who had been harassed by an ex-husband of a family member. Officer Wood made himself available off-duty to communicate with family members and reassure them about their safety.

In October, Officer Wood was patrolling a parking lot of the Granada Apartments. He saw a man enter a vehicle and light a napkin on fire. Wood walked over to the car and saw the man drop the lit napkin onto a pile of other napkins in the front seat. Wood could smell the odor of gasoline coming from within the car as he tried to get the man out. The man was seat-belted in, resisted Wood, and said that he wanted to die. Officer Wood managed to pull the man from the car, but the man attempted to get back in. Wood had to handcuff the individual, who was considerably larger than he was, and call for back-up and the fire department. Wood had to move his cruiser further away from the flaming car, and while doing so, the man attempted to flee. Wood gave chase and apprehended him, and secured the man in his cruiser. Wood then tried to extinguish the flames with his fire extinguisher. It was discovered later that the man had pumped 1 ½ gallons of gasoline into his car to prepare the fire and had written a suicide note. Officer Wood was awarded the Medal of Honor and the Life Saving Award for his efforts.