Const. Anthony Woods: Natalie Woods remembers the harrowing moment her son was killed on duty

She would have given anything. Faced with the decision to turn off the machines that were keeping her son alive, Natalie Woods wondered whether there was a way she could give up her own life to save him. “Obviously the last day, when the doctor said ‘tomorrow we have to make a decision’ — that’s the hardest thing as a parent that I’ve ever had to do,” Mrs Woods told The West a year on from her son’s tragic death. “You’re in denial for so long, because, as I said to the doctor, ‘can I give him anything of mine? Because I’ve lived for 50-odd years ... I said, ‘I’ve lived this long, can I give him anything of mine to let him have his life?’ “You sort of go, ‘I’ll give him my brain, or whatever I can give him to keep going, I’ll give it to him’. Because I was quite happy that I had lived a good life, and he will still young, and I was quite happy as a mother to do that. “And as much as you know that he is in a coma and his body has started shutting down — if there was something they could have done, I would have done it.” Her son — Constable Anthony Woods — was trying to arrest the driver of a stolen car in Ascot on June 8 last year when he was mowed down and killed. He succumbed to his injuries three days later on June 11. Const. Wood’s family, including his mother, his father Todd, his siblings Brooke and Nathan and wife Emily, stayed by his bed for the three days he fought to survive. “It was painful. It was very hard,” Mrs Woods said of her son’s death. “Obviously, we were all in shock and clinging to hope that he was going to pull through because he was put into an induced coma. “To have that in front of you, and each hour of the day to be told there were no changes, or it looks like his brain has died — to hear those sorts of things about your family member, it was just like a big fog,” she said. Mrs Woods recalled the moment she received the call that her son had been seriously injured, which she said was “one of the worst things a mother could ever, ever get”. “I went into total shock straight away,” she said. “That very first moment, you hear that he’s in an accident. You know he’s a police officer but you never think that the worst of the worst is going to happen.” To mark the first anniversary of Const. Woods’ death, his colleagues at Belmont police station, where he worked, are today due to host a commemorative ceremony and unveil a barbecue area and plaque at the station in his memory. A memorial football game will also be held on Saturday dedicated to Const. Woods, who was the 88th WA police officer to die in the line of duty. Cannington District Superintendent Roger Beer said Const. Woods had a persona that “touched the hearts and minds of all that he met, and his passing had a massive impact” across the force. “The commemorative plaque and social area dedicated to Anthony will ensure that his memory lives on,” he said. Mrs Woods said the area at the station was a “beautiful” honour for her son. “He loved getting around with people and talking and having a good laugh. I think he would have loved it,” she said. Mrs Woods said the family had received “amazing” support from the force and the community in the year since her son’s death. But in the 12 months since his death, she had missed his phone calls, his visits, his laughter and his jokes. “Him being around, being part of us just every single day” she said. “My eldest son and youngest daughter and the grandchildren, he had such a connection with all of them. “He used to bring them all together, and you can feel it’s lost. He’s not there anymore. “People who knew him talk about him and say how funny he was, and how jovial he was, and he did funny stuff like this. “Eventually one day I’ll be able to hopefully joke around and talk about those sorts of things. But it’s still way too raw.”