‘Fallen hero.’ Friends, family at funeral recall Charlotte officer’s life of dedication
READ MORE
Officer Mia Goodwin death and funeral
Funeral arrangements are set for a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer who died in a wreck involving two semi-trucks on Interstate 85 on Dec. 22. Officer Mia Goodwin, 33, was killed and three other officers were injured.
Expand All
One thing was clear from the laughter and tears shared in uptown Charlotte Wednesday afternoon — Officer Mia Goodwin lived a life of dedication.
She was always talking about and bragging on her family: her firefighter husband and college sweetheart, Brenton, and their three young kids, Gabriella, Greyson and Gia.
“And for good reason,” friend Katherine Hernandez said. “You guys made three wonderful kids.”
Goodwin’s strong Christian faith was a formative part of her life too, according to family. She attended University Elevation Church in Charlotte. And Goodwin was devoted to her job with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
Goodwin, 33, was killed on duty in the early morning of Dec. 22, just after returning from maternity leave. She died in a wreck involving two semi-trucks on Interstate 85; three other officers were injured. They all had been working an accident scene there.
On Wednesday, friends, family and community members gathered to remember Goodwin at uptown Charlotte’s First Baptist Church during a two-hour funeral service.
Police Chief Johnny Jennings called the support from the community “overwhelming” and “remarkable.”
“Mia paid that ultimate sacrifice, doing something that she loved to do,” he said.
Goodwin’s father, Antonio Figueroa, was fighting tears as he spoke about his daughter. Figueroa said he’s so grateful to the Charlotte community for welcoming and accepting his daughter, who grew up in Passaic, New Jersey.
Through tears, he remembered the day he took his daughter’s hand and gave her away at her wedding to Brenton. “Today, ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters in Christ — I once again take my daughter’s hand and I give her away, to God,” he said.
.JPG "CLT_OFFICER_GOODWIN_FUNERAL_01 (1).JPG")
Faithful, fearless and 5’2”
Goodwin was baptized at age 10, and shared her faith through church mission trips and volunteering with the American Red Cross.
Her “determination to live by God’s example” placed her on the path of living a life of service, Goodwin’s family wrote in her obituary, shared in the funeral program.
Mia and Brenton met at High Point University, were married in 2017, and welcomed their first child the following year. She joined the force in 2015 after previously working for Bank of America in Greensboro and Charlotte.
Goodwin, all of 5’2” and fearless, wasn’t someone to mess with either, her family noted in the obituary.
They recounted that in a CMPD ride along during her training, an offender in the backseat taunted her, shouting all sorts of disparaging comments. She “turned calmly,” firing back a snappy response that “let the offender know this beautiful 5’2” woman… commanded respect.”
The procession
The procession started at 9 a.m. and took Goodwin from Alexander Funeral Home to First Baptist at 301. S. Davidson St.
Hundreds of CMPD officers and staff were in the procession, and a U.S. flag flew at half-mast on Charlotte Fire Department Ladder 27 on South Davidson Street outside the First Baptist Church entrance.
The procession was led by dozens of CMPD motorcycle officers.
Police officers from around the state had also gathered to honor Goodwin. “We wanted to show support for Charlotte and for the family of the officer,” Lenoir Police Department Sgt. James Moore said.
Many Charlotte residents turned out to honor Goodwin too. Sandy Thiry, with a group from the Charlotte Firefighters Retirement System, said her group was there to support police and “brothers and sisters” from the fire department.
And Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles summed up in a tweet a theme echoed on the street and at the service: “This is a day to honor a fallen hero who died in service to her community.”
At the funeral
The funeral began at noon, with a formal procession by the CMPD and Charlotte Fire Department honor guards.
“This is a law enforcement ceremony that’s steeped with traditions,” CMPD spokesman Capt. Brad Koch said as he opened the service. “…(The ceremony) is an honor is bestowed on those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our community and our country.”
Goodwin was a “remarkable officer” and “wonderful mother,” Koch said.
Charlotte Fire Chief Reginald Johnson celebrated Goodwin’s life, saying, “To the family, to our CMPD brothers and sisters, I just want you to know that that Charlotte Fire family has been supportive and will continue to support you.”
Retired Charlotte firefighter Kim Peterson honored Goodwin with singing, highlighting Goodwin’s husband and their children, ages 3, 1 and 4 months.
The service was open to the public, and streamed online. Burial was in a private service.
The funeral concluded with the retrieval of colors by the police and fire honor guards. A lone bag piper played “Amazing Grace” as he followed them out of the church.
Tributes around the city
A number of tributes to Goodwin have appeared around the city.
This included a police cruiser at the University City precinct with an American flag and flowers, a CATS bus message board reading “RIP Officer Goodwin” and a billboard with Goodwin’s picture and the message, “Thoughts & prayers to the family of Officer Mia Goodwin. Rest Peacefully.”
Crystal Ashe of Hickory watched the morning procession from across the street from First Baptist.
“Her risking her life for us every day and her coming back from maternity leave to risk her life — it touches me and makes me want to strive to do better,” she said.
Ashe, who works in health care, has organized benefit rides for police for the past two years. She said a CMPD bike patrol officer asked her to arrange one to benefit Goodwin’s family.
She’s scheduling the Officer Mia Goodwin Ride to Remember for April 9. Roughly 500 people have already signed up for the event.
Elsewhere, Lisa Crawford, executive director of Mothers of Murdered Offspring, an organization that provides assistance to families of murder victims, said her group partners with the police department.
She was crushed to hear about Goodwin’s death. “It literally just broke my heart to know that she was just back from maternity leave with (three) young kids,” Crawford said. “It’s good to be here and just let the family know that we care.”
Police officers always support each other after a tragedy, added North Carolina Law Enforcement Women’s Association President Marsha Williams. “It’s just the culture of law enforcement,” she said. “We always come together as brothers and sisters.”
Charges in the case
Goodwin is believed to be the first CMPD officer killed while stationed at a traffic accident scene since the 1980s.
One of the truck drivers involved in the wreck that killed Goodwin, 50-year-old Leon Morgan of High Point, has since been charged with involuntary manslaughter.
Morgan has also been charged with misdemeanor death by vehicle, failure to reduce speed and felony failure to move over for stopped emergency vehicles. And Morgan was cited for knowingly displaying a fictitious registration plate.
At 3:39 a.m. on Dec. 22., two semi-trucks collided with each other on I-85 South in northeast Charlotte, authorities said. The collision sent both trucks into CMPD vehicles that were assisting State Highway Patrol with traffic for an earlier wreck near W.T. Harris Boulevard.
The local chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police is accepting donations for her family, and two GoFundMe pages also have been set up for them. The GoFundMe pages show that over $300,000 has been raised for the family so far.
‘Her laughter, her smiles’
But friends said they don’t want to focus on Goodwin’s last day.
Hernandez and two other friends, Ashton Kersey and Darrell Antley, spoke at Goodwin’s service. “We leaned on each other through the rough times and laughed at the good times,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez, Kersey and Antley all worked with Goodwin in CMPD’s University district.
“She was my big sister,” Kersey said. “The morning I got the call (about her death), I could do nothing but scream.”
But he said he’s focusing on the laughter they shared throughout their friendship.
“That’s how I choose to remember her: her laughter, her smiles.”
This story was originally published December 29, 2021 at 8:30 AM.
.jpg)
