Amid cacophony since Capitol siege, key officer stays silent
In the week since a mob laid siege to the U.S. Capitol, the House has impeached President Donald Trump. Dozens of people have been arrested nationwide over participation in the riots. Politicians and business leaders are loudly condemning the violence. Twitter and other social media sites have banned Trump and thousands of other accounts.
Yet amid all the noise, a Capitol Police officer hailed as a hero for confronting the insurrectionists and leading them away from Senate chambers has remained silent.
Officer Eugene Goodman isn’t saying whether he thinks he saved the Senate, as many of the millions who’ve viewed the video believe. In fact, Goodman isn’t saying anything at all publicly — not to reporters, not on social media. And he’s asked the force’s union, bosses, family and friends to help him maintain his privacy and not publicly discuss the events of Jan. 6.
But the video speaks volumes.
Goodman, a Black man facing an overwhelmingly white mob, is the only officer seen for a full minute of the footage, shot by reporter Igor Bobic of HuffPost. Goodman stands in front of the rioters, walks backward until he reaches a collapsible baton lying on the floor, and picks it up. “Back up ... back it up!” he yells, keeping his eyes on the mob. He turns and runs upstairs, waving the baton, as the group follows.
Goodman calls “second floor” into his radio, then takes a brief glance and half a step to his left at the top of the stairs. Two chairs sit on either side of an entrance to the U.S. Senate chamber, just a few steps away. Dozens of rioters are right in front of him, no other officers to be seen.
Goodman shoves one of the rioters and walks to the right, away from the chamber. The mob follows, and
Goodman leads them to a room where other officers wait.
The time on the video is 2:14 p.m. The Senate stopped its proceedings to begin clearing the chamber at 2:15 p.m.
Five died in the riots, including one of Goodman’s fellow officers. Legislative offices were trashed, gallows were built outside, and a video showed a woman shot dead while journalists, Congress members and staff hid.
The images of Goodman spread via social media and news sites, a foil to the bloody and messy scenes elsewhere at the Capitol. People called him brave, impressive, effective. They dissected the video, guessing about his strategy and decision-making.
Goodman has been silent. He didn’t respond to text messages and phone calls The Associated Press left at potential numbers for him. .
Public records shed a little light on Goodman. He served in the Army as an infantryman for more than four years, leaving with the rank of sergeant in December 2006 after a year in Iraq. He has worked for the Capitol Police since at least mid2009. But that’s about it.
A Republican and two Democrats in the U.S. House introduced a bill Thursday to give him the Congressional Gold Medal.