Eugene Goodman: The Man Who Saved The Senate

By William McCoy, MPA

On January 6, 2021, a Black man saved the United States Senate.

Someone shouted, “Grab that [man]. Get him!” With that, the chase was on. In a scene reminiscent of days gone by, the Black man pushed a member of the mob and started running. Dozens of pro-Trump insurrectionists followed in hot pursuit. Down a hall and up a flight of stairs, he ran. Behind him, the agitated White mob shouted threats and racial slurs as they pursued their prey. Repeatedly looking back, the Black man ran toward help. With guile and cunning, he lured the would-be seditionists away from the unguarded Senate room.

This was not a scene from yesteryear. It occurred during the January 6, 2021 attack on the nation’s Capitol incited by twice impeached, ex-president Donald Trump. For “85 tense seconds,” U.S. Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman: (1) led rioters away from the Senate chambers; (2) secured backup on the second-floor landing; and (3) exercised extreme restraint in order to prevent injury or loss of life, according to a Washington Post article written by Rebecca Tan (January 13, 2021).

On a day that will forever live in infamy, a Black man saved the United States Senate from a mob of Trump-inspired rioters seeking to derail the certification of the Electoral College vote declaring Joe Biden the winner of the 2020 Presidential election. Lives were spared, a U.S. Constitution mandated process was completed, and American democracy was preserved- thanks to Eugene Goodman. Black history will call Goodman a hero. American history will call him a patriot.

Kirk D. Burkhalter, a law professor and former New York City police officer, said the death toll from the January 6, 2021 attack could have been much higher if Goodman had made different choices. “These folks had zip ties. It’s not unreasonable to say that they were ready to take hostages. Officer Goodman really helped to avoid a tremendous tragedy.”

The Trump Insurrection claimed, at least, seven lives. The dead included Capitol police officer Brian Sicknick, who as beaten with a fire extinguisher before he died. Two other officers, one with the Capitol Police and another from the (DC) Metropolitan Police Department, later committed suicide. Donald Trump’s supporters injured over 50 police officers during the historic uprising.

Roughly, 30 sworn police officers from across the country were involved in the attack on the U.S. Capitol. Some came from as far away as California in response to Trump’s call to stop the certification of a free and fair election. It is not clear how many of these police officers stormed the building with rioters and/or now face federal criminal charges. Officers took photos with rioters, videotaped themselves breaching and defiling the Capitol, and helped insurrectionists access and navigate the building. No less than 21 highly trained current and former military personnel joined these police officers. It was as if participating police, military, and seditionists thought they were on the same team, just wearing different jerseys.

Remember, these 50-plus police officers and military veterans all swore an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America. Yet, on January 6, 2021, they turned their collective backs on that oath and the Constitution to participate in an unsuccessful, un-American attempt to subvert democracy and cancel the results of 2020 presidential election. The pro-Trump seditionists did not sing “God Bless the USA” on that fateful day. No one chanted, “Back the Blue,” as Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman tricked dozens of insurrectionists into chasing him away from the vulnerable, unguarded Senate chambers where frightened legislators hid. No shouts of “Blue Lives Matter” were heard as one police officer was being beaten with an American flag, another clubbed with a fire extinguisher, and a third crushed in a doorway on synchronized command.

Those former and current police officers and military personnel who sympathized, took pictures with, and helped the MAGA mob lay siege to the Capitol building learned a hard lesson that day: treasonous law-breakers and law enforcement are not on the same team. The “teachers” who imparted that lesson included pro-Trump White supremacists who claim to support the police and “law and order.” Do you think Brian Sidnick (the officer killed in the Capitol attack) would say these far-right extremists supported law and order, if he were alive?

In conclusion, now-former Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman is a real-life American hero. Goodman has since been appointed acting deputy Senate sergeantat-arms. He was part of the official escort accompanying Vice President Kamala Harris to the platform outside the Capitol, where she was sworn into the nation’s secondhighest office. The mention of Goodman’s name evoked loud applause, as he appeared at the Capitol’s arched entranceway where rioters breached the building on January 6, 2021. A bipartisan trio of lawmakers has also introduced legislation that would award Officer Eugene Goodman the Congressional Gold Medal for his bravery during the rampage.

Former tennis-great Arthur Ashe said, “True heroism is remarkably sober, very dramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others, at whatever cost.”

William McCoy is founder of and principal consultant for The McCoy Company- a personal services consulting firm specializing in planning, training, and development. He is certified by the U.S. Department of Justice in disproportionate minority contact reduction and crime victim services. Mr. McCoy is one on the nation’s leading proponents of violence interruption training. Prior to establishing The McCoy Company, he spent 12 years in high-profile public service positions, highlighted by two White House appointments. William McCoy holds a BA in economics and MPA in finance. He is author of the up-coming book On the Edge: A Practical Approach to Bridging the Gap between Police and the Black Community. McCoy is profiled in Who’s Who in the World and elsewhere. William McCoy can be reached at (614) 785-8497 or via e-mail at wmccoy2@themccoycompany.com. You can visit his website at wmccoy29.wixsite. com/mysite.