Patrol Officer Dustin Moody was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana. He lived with his mother, grandmother, and grandfather. Moody’s childhood was fun and busy, having hobbies such as hunting, fishing, and helping others through the cadet program. One year when he was in high school, he joined the choir for the Christmas season and met his future wife, Emily. They began their relationship on December 29, 2009 and tied the knot exactly four years later on December 29, 2013. They will be celebrating 10 happy years of marriage and 15 wonderful years together this December.
Upon his grandfather having a medical emergency and watching the various first responders take care of him, Moody never wanted to be in a position where he could not help him again. He knew right then that he was destined to help others. In 2006, at just 14 years old, he began as a fire cadet with the Franklin Township Fire Department and continued until he obtained his first full-time position as an EMT on the ambulance. Although the work was fulfilling, Moody had an ambition to become a police officer since he was a small child. Through the connections he made with the fire department, Moody was able to begin pursuing his career in law enforcement in 2014 and started with the Trafalgar Police Department in July of 2019 where he served in patrol, investigations, and training. Moody loved being able to help and serve in different ways each shift, as well as the brotherhood that you build in public safety. His goals each day were to go above and beyond each shift and make a positive impact on the community. Throughout his honorable service in public safety, Moody received several commendations.
On June 25, 2022 he witnessed a pickup truck controlled by an impaired driver aggressively speeding. Upon pursuing the truck, it would not slow down, even when Moody turned his emergency lights and sirens on. Eventually, Moody and the driver of the pickup truck crashed into the tree line of a T-intersection, causing catastrophic injuries to Moody and killing the pickup truck driver. Moody sustained devastating injuries, including a level four dissection to the carotid artery, 11 broken ribs, a collapsed lung, two compressed vertebrae into the spinal cord, a shattered pelvis, and a shattered right hip. He was unfortunately left with paralysis from the waist down.
Moody’s recovery has been long and tiresome thus far, having spent four months after the accident in a hospital and has since been in out-patient rehabilitative therapy. Upon Moody’s discharge from the hospital in October of 2022, he was finally able to reunite with his two sons. His wife, Emily, stated he was able to at least return to one role: being a dad. The Central Indiana Police Foundation was fortunately able to raise enough money to gift Moody and his family a wheelchair-accessible van which lifted a great amount of weight and struggle off of Moody and his family.
Currently, Moody is living in a two bedroom apartment in Greenwood, Indiana while his home is being renovated. He is focusing on his health with the hope and prayer that he can return to doing what he loves in law enforcement one day, however, he participates in some of his childhood hobbies like hunting, fishing, and working on guns. In the future, Moody is most excited to grow old with his wife, watch his two boys grow, take his family to church, and teach his sons how to serve the Lord. Patrol Officer Dustin Moody is eternally grateful for the support that Tunnel to Towers has provided him and his family and the burden that was lifted off of their shoulders with the gift of their smart home. After everything, Moody is not upset with the person driving impaired the night of his accident, he is upset with the choices they made. He is grateful to God and his guardian angels for protecting him and providing him with resilience to be a stronger individual.