Roll of Honor
Incident
Patrolman Pete Woods was shot and killed by an escaped convict that was a passenger in a vehicle that area police were searching for following a robbery in Mount Pleasant. He located and stopped the vehicle approximately one block from the county courthouse. During a struggle the suspect grabbed his gun, shot him, and another officer in the chest before being subdued. The other officer recovered. The killer, 27, was arrested hours later, along with another man, 38, and a woman, 18, by officers in Shreveport, Louisiana. The killer was a Louisiana prison inmate who escaped from a New Orleans hospital nine days earlier. On July 19, 1965, he was convicted of murder, attempted murder, and sentenced to 134 years. As he left the court room he was smiling and winking at women spectators. He was returned to Angola Prison in Louisiana to finish a term for armed robbery before being returned to Texas. He and the woman still faced two armed robbery charges in Louisiana and two in Texas. On February 17, 1967, the suspect escaped from the same New Orleans hospital where he was being treated for an ear infection. He was quickly captured. On March 28, 1975, he along with four other inmates escaped from the Smith County Jail in Tyler Texas. On June 24, 1975, he was captured in Jasper after police surprised him in a closed drug store. He died in prison on March 26, 2010. Patrolman Woods had served with the Carthage Police Department for six years.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-TX-8A29555B- 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
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Patrolman Woods gave the Carthage Police Department 6 years.
Thank you for your service to the Carthage community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Woods.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Patrolman Pete M. Woods is one of 17,623 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 54.2% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In TX, 1,463 of 2,421 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 60.4% of this state's fallen. That is 6.2 percentage points above the national rate of 54.2%.
At Carthage Police Department, 1 of 2 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 50% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Pete M. Woods's cause is highlighted.
How Pete M. Woods Compares
Offender Outcome
Sentenced to life
When Felonious Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. Pete M. Woods is highlighted in Dec.
Weapons Used Against Officers
Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. Pete M. Woods was killed by officer's handgun.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
1 officer from Carthage Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
