By MES Dispatch Staff
The Briefing
- York County Sheriff’s Lt. Dave Godfrey, shot eight times in a Sept. 17, 2025, ambush, spoke with WGAL about his recovery one year later.
- The ambush killed Northern York County Regional Police Detective Sgt. Cody Becker, Detective Mark Baker and Detective Isaiah Emenheiser after a suspect opened fire as officers served a warrant.
- Godfrey suffered a severed sciatic nerve, broken ribs, a collapsed lung and the loss of his spleen; doctors say it could take up to three years to know whether nerve function will return.
- A May fall caused by his affected foot resulted in a broken leg; he continues to experience chest pain from his injuries.
- Godfrey has organized toy and blood drives and speaks with students and law enforcement recruits, citing the seven pints of blood he received after the shooting.
YORK COUNTY, Pa. — One year after being shot eight times in an ambush that killed three fellow officers, York County Sheriff’s Lt. Dave Godfrey described his ongoing recovery in an interview with WGAL.
“I’ve had to slow down a lot,” Godfrey said. “I used to be a guy that — I would have 10 things going on at one time. Mentally, I could still do it. Physically, I can’t.”
The Sept. 17, 2025, shooting killed Northern York County Regional Police Detective Sgt. Cody Becker, Detective Mark Baker and Detective Isaiah Emenheiser. The officers were serving a warrant at a home when a suspect wearing camouflage opened fire as they entered the front door.
One bullet severed Godfrey’s sciatic nerve, leaving him with limited control over one of his feet. In May, that lack of control caused him to fall and break his leg after his foot turned beneath him while walking. Doctors have told Godfrey it could take up to three years to determine whether the nerve will recover, and he continues to experience pain from injuries that included broken ribs, a collapsed lung and the loss of his spleen. He described the ongoing chest pain as feeling like “there’s somebody inside my chest trying to dig their way out.”
Godfrey told WGAL his family has had to adjust to a slower pace since the shooting, and that the experience deepened his appreciation for time with them. Despite continuing pain, he said he has chosen to remain optimistic. “Why be miserable?” Godfrey said. “We all have a choice to make, and I think miserable is not an option.”
Godfrey has since organized toy and blood drives and speaks with students and new law enforcement recruits. He said his advocacy for blood donation is personal, having lost seven pints of blood after the shooting. “You wonder, you’re giving blood, does it really make a difference?” he said. “Well, I’m still walking around because of it.”