Former Wake County sergeant Roy Woodlief dies after ALS battle

Roy Woodlief, a longtime Wake County Sheriff’s Office sergeant who spent about 20 years in county law enforcement, died Saturday morning after a battle with ALS. His wife, Sybil Woodlief, confirmed the death, bringing a close to a story that Wake County deputies, first responders and neighbors had followed closely through his illness.

Woodlief’s service reached deep into the county’s public-safety system. Born in Raleigh and raised in Garner, he worked assignments in the courthouse, patrol, domestic violence and Special Operations, and he joined Special Operations in 2012. He also served on the sheriff’s office SWAT team, work that placed him in some of the agency’s most demanding and visible roles as it serves more than 1,000,000 residents across 12 municipalities and unincorporated areas with about 1,000 employees.

His illness first became public in 2024, when he said symptoms started while he was working out on duty. He described weakness beginning in his right hand, then moving up his arm and into his right leg. Woodlief retired in March 2024 to focus on his health, and he was presented with the North Carolina state flag as a tribute to his service.

The illness also exposed the strain ALS can place on law-enforcement families. In March 2024, Woodlief’s family sought help after waiting months for an insurance payout tied to his diagnosis. By April 2024, Sybil Woodlief said the year had been devastating, and that Roy had been the SWAT team leader just 11 months earlier. The family also found support through ALS Walk events in Raleigh, where the community rallied around them as his condition worsened.

Woodlief’s obituary reflects how rooted he was in Wake County long before ALS changed the course of his life. It notes his Raleigh birth, his Garner upbringing and a career built across the courthouse, patrol, domestic violence and Special Operations units. For many inside the sheriff’s office, he was not just a former sergeant but a steady presence in the daily work of keeping Wake County safe. His death leaves behind that public-service record, and a local family that spent more than a year carrying the burden of his illness with the community watching closely.