A Man of Many Talents
Educator | Author | Officer | Artist | Veteran
From teaching courses in counterterrorism and anti-human trafficking to writing hardback novels and carving sandstone, Barry Goodson is a man with a story to tell. With over 3 decades of experience in law enforcement and education, Barry has worked to protect and strengthen his community while inspiring others to follow in his footsteps. As a life-long veteran of the Viet Nam War, Barry continues to support and empower his fellow soldiers through active involvement in local veteran affairs. Now a college professor and author of Country Cop and CAP Môt, Barry has led a career in service invaluable to his community.
Educator
With almost two decades of experience in education, Barry has led classes ranging from high school criminal justice to college level counterterrorism. He currently works as a professor for Columbia Southern University and the University of the Virgin Islands teaching several courses such as criminal investigations and bomb-making materials awareness. In addition to academia, Barry is heavily involved in law enforcement training. Back in 2006, he was stationed in Afghanistan training the local Afghan Police forces in modern police tactics. Today, he is a certified Administrative Trainer for the Department of Homeland Security BMAP-CL program along with high-level certifications such as the CHPP (Certified Homeland Protection Professional). Barry is also the Vice President of HTITI - the Human Trafficking Investigations and Training Institute, where he teaches courses in both civilian and law enforcement anti-human trafficking measures and forensics investigations. During his career, Barry managed to rescue several children who fell prey to Internet chatroom enticements.
Author
The author of CAP Môt - The Story of a Marine Special Operations Unit in Vietnam and recently released Country Cop - True Tales From a Texas Deputy Sheriff, Barry is an established writer who uses his personal experiences to not only tell a story, but provide education and insight on the topics he covers. CAP Môt is the story of Goodson’s tour of duty as a CAP Marine in the Viet Nam War. The story follows Barry and a small squad of eight Marines through the jungle as they live among the Vietnamese villagers, adopting their way of life and providing support and safety for the local community. Cap Môt is often praised as being a truly honest depiction of Viet Nam and its people during the war. His new historical writing, Country Cop, is a collection of true tales from Goodson’s career as a Deputy Sheriff, where he applies law enforcement techniques and strategies to each story, discussing protocol and legality in detail. In addition to his hardback, historical writings, Barry continues to write academic articles on various law enforcement and national security topics.
Officer
From 1990 - 2006 Barry worked as a Deputy Sheriff for the Parker County Sheriff’s Office. He served in several positions throughout his career including lead detective of the Crimes Against Children Task Force, lead Patrol Sergeant, and 2nd in command of the Criminal Investigation Division. Other hats he wore included Sergeant of the Explorers & SRO Programs, Lead Officer of Community Policing, Civil Process Officer, Juvenile Investigator, and Public Relations Officer. His experience in the CAP Marines empowered him to become an officer grounded in humanity who was invaluable to his community, with a respectful nature that gained him the trust of even the county’s most notorious criminals.
Artist
Before Barry was in law enforcement, he worked for several years in mining engineering and then commercial and residential construction where he enjoyed creating conceptual architectural artwork to help clients visualize their designs. As a hobbyist, Barry most prominently works with stone sculptures but works with wood as well. Along with a handful drawings here and there, his work ranges from wood and sandstone to even incorporate bits of dry coral. In an article created by the Weatherford Democrat in the 1990s Barry mentions his process as “envisioning something trapped inside the stone, waiting to be freed. By carving the layers away, I merely expose what was there all along, setting free the creature inside.”
Veteran
Once a Marine, always a Marine - Goodson has worn the USMC mark with pride throughout his life. Since his tour of duty as a CAP Marine in the Viet Nam War, Barry has been heavily active in the veteran community. He created the Parker County Marine Corps League and singlehandedly brought the Veteran’s Day Parade back to the county in the early 1990s, where he served as Grand Marshal. Goodson’s dedication to the American Legion and Parker County even earned him the Officer of the Year award in 1995. Before his retirement from service with the Parker County Sheriff’s Officer, Sheriff Jay Brown awarded him the honor of the Sheriff’s Commendation Bar for outstanding service on behalf of Parker County.
