COLERAIN TOWNSHIP, Ohio - To Police Chief Mark Denney, there’s no better way to remember Officer Dale Woods and honor his sacrifice than to rename the street leading to the police station and community center in his name.
His children driving his patrol vehicle down the street now named Dale Woods Way. @WCPO pic.twitter.com/oapyj2KZar
— Courtney Francisco (@CFranciscoWCPO) January 7, 2020
"Every time we leave the building, that's the street we go down, so to be able to have his name there was important to us," Denney told WCPO Tuesday.
A ceremony to change Heritageway Drive to Dale Woods Way on Tuesday night marked one year since Officer Woods was hit by a truck on Colerain Avenue as he was moving a traffic cone at a crash site.
Tonight - @ColerainPolice honor Officer Dale Woods. Year after year, he proved the definition of public servant. The day after he died, a woman he saved from a fire broke down talking to me about him @WCPO: https://t.co/MCqlhLUWpC
— Evan Millward (@EvanMillward) January 7, 2020
"I don’t think we had a specialized position he didn't apply for," Denney said.
Officer Woods’ death brought a lot of changes to the department, including new equipment to help drivers see officers on the road and hours of training.
Officer Woods, 46, had three kids.
"Somebody like that leaves a big hole when they leave,” Denney said.
I heard more than one story like that the day after Officer Woods died - here's more about his impact @Colerain_Fire @ColerainPolice from 1/8/2019: https://t.co/nBf463IT6w
— Evan Millward (@EvanMillward) January 7, 2020
“He was a good person even when he didn't have a uniform on,” said Amanda Lundy. “Just be a good person, a positive role model, be kind to everyone."
After police unveiled the new Dale Woods Way sign, his children drove his old patrol car down the road named after their hero.
“We thought that was a nice way to christen the street and get it started off on the right foot,” Denney said.
