Among the harrowing images presented during the impeachment trial of former President Donald J. Trump, a video stood out: a Capitol police officer running towards a senator to warn of the angry crowd nearby.
The senator, Mitt Romney, from Utah, is shown turning around and fleeing to safety.
“I don’t think my family or wife understood that I was as close as I could be to real danger,” Romney told reporters on Thursday, the day after the video showed officer Eugene Goodman helping him. “They were surprised and thanked, very, very much, Officer Goodman for being there and directing me back to safety.”
For officer Goodman, it was the second time that a video went viral showing actions widely credited for saving members of Congress. The first, who showed him alone, drawing the crowd away from the Senate entrance towards an area with reinforcements, turned him into a hero. The second added to its tradition.
Both catapulted Officer Goodman – a former Army infantryman who served in one of the most dangerous parts of Iraq during a lethal period of war – to fame he never sought.
On Wednesday, after Romney watched videos showing Officer Goodman directing him to safety, he could be seen talking to the officer. Senator Rob Portman, a Republican from Ohio, later came over and punched the officer.
On Thursday, spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi highlighted Officer Goodman for his courage in presenting legislation to award the Capitol Police and other law enforcement officers who responded on January 6 with the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honor of Congress. On January 20, Officer Goodman was tasked with accompanying Vice President Kamala Harris to President Joseph R. Biden Jr.
Veterans who served alongside officer Goodman in Iraq’s 101st Airborne Division about 15 years ago say that the officer, then known as “Goody”, never yearned for praise.
“I saw him leave in front of the vice president and he immediately ducked to the right,” said Mark Belda, who served with Officer Goodman in Iraq. “I thought, this is definitely Goody.”