Roll of Honor
Incident
Patrolman Robert Goodrich and Sergeant Paul Knisely drowned in Little Apple Creek during a rescue mission at 5 am. The area had received ten inches of rain in less than 13 hours. Four policemen were rescuing people trapped by high waters in their homes when their boat capsized. Two policemen were rescued; one of the police officers was Patrolman Goodrich's son. Patrolman Goodrich had served with the Wooster Police Department for 23 years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, son, two grandchildren, and sister.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-OH-5FC87909- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
23 years. You could have gone home.
Patrolman Goodrich gave the Wooster Police Department 23 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Wooster community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Goodrich.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Patrolman Robert C. Goodrich is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In OH, 318 of 991 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 32.1% of this state's fallen. That is 1.1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At Wooster Police Department, 2 of 3 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 66.7% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Robert C. Goodrich's cause is highlighted.
How Robert C. Goodrich Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Robert C. Goodrich is highlighted in Jul.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
2 officers from Wooster Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
