Violent supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump had managed to enter the Capitol, and were closing in on the entrance to the Senate when the legislators gathered there had not yet been evacuated.
Eugene Goodman was the only policeman among the congressmen and the main access to the Upper House room.
When confronted with the mob of violent people, mostly white and who were carrying the Confederate slave flag, the black officer responded with a mental acuity that has earned him the title of hero.
Congressmen now want him to receive the Congressional Gold Medal, the
highest honor for a civilian from
the US legislative branch.
"The sacrificial and quick-thinking actions of Officer Eugene Goodman
undoubtedly saved lives
, and gave security personnel precious time to guard and finish evacuating the Senate before the armed mob could enter the chamber," he says the bill.
A video of the moment shows
Goodman turning to his left, where he notices that the door to the Senate was not guarded.
Then he pushes one of the aggressors, before running off as if looking for them to take the bait and follow him.
At the same time, he uses his radio to warn other officers where he was going.
["Kill him with his own gun!": This is how the police suffered the attack by Trump fans]
He thus managed to get
the violent group to chase him instead of him getting into the Upper House, and to follow him to where he had summoned more police.
The video was taken at 2:14 p.m. on Wednesday.
The Senate, where Vice President Mike Pence was on that day, first in the line of succession, interrupted its procedures to ratify Joe Biden's victory until 2:15, according to a report from a journalist.
Given that several of the extremists who entered the Capitol had plans to take legislators hostage, according to official investigations, what Goodman did made it impossible to reach the senators before they evacuated and took shelter.
[FBI warns that attack on Capitol Hill will motivate more "violent anti-government extremists"]
Specialists believe that otherwise the toll of five deaths from the January 6 raid could have been higher - a murdered officer, Brian Sicknick;
an assailant who was shot dead by the police, veteran Ashli Babbit;
and three members of the pro-Trump crowd who had "medical emergencies," according to authorities.
"He's a hero! The Capitol was being attacked by violent, armed extremists, and Officer Eugene Goodman was the only thing separating the mob and the Senate.
It's scary to think what would have happened if it weren't for Officer Goodman's quick action. ,
as well as his commitment to his duty and his country ,
"said representative Charlie Crist, Florida democrat.
Crist is one of the legislators who introduced the bill along with Republican Nancy Mace of South Carolina and Democrat Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri.
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Goodman, 40, is a native of Washington, DC and was
deployed with the Army in Iraq between 2002 and 2006
, part of the Airborne Forces Division.
He has worked for the Capitol Police since 2009.
The Airborne Corporation publicly thanked Goodman for his work:
Although some acquaintances of Goodman have expressed fear that the attention paid to him will backfire and make him a target of the violent extremists Trump supporters who carried out the attack on Capitol Hill.
"He said he would do the same without thinking about it, and he doesn't want applause," an officer who is a friend of Goodman told The Washington Post, "but
the attention scares him a little."
With information from The Washington Post, NBC News and AP