The widow of a Jan. 6 police officer who committed suicide after suffering from a “brain injury” and “severe depression” she claims was the result of defending the Capitol received a bittersweet outcome in federal court on Friday when a demonstrator was found liable for the assault but not her husband’s death.
According to The Associated Press, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes told Emily Smith, widow of Metropolitan Police Officer Jeffrey Smith, that she did not believe jurors could decide whether David Walls-Kaufman’s actions were to blame for Jeffrey’s suicide.
According to Reyes, it would be “exceedingly rational” for both sides “to get this behind you” and consider a settlement rather than wasting time and money on an appeal.
An eight-member jury later found Walls-Kaufman liable for assaulting Jeffrey Smith, potentially allowing Emily to recover monetary damages. Additional testimony and closing arguments are scheduled for this week, as Reyes decided to divide the trial into two parts, one on Smith’s claims and the other on damages, according to the Associated Press.
The trial began last Monday with Emily Smith’s emotional testimony and opening statements.
“My client is still living with the events of that,” her attorney, Richard Link, told jurors.
“I told him I loved him and that I’d see him when he got home,” Erin Smith testified, according to the Associated Press.
Jeffrey Smith committed suicide just nine days after being attacked by Walls-Kaufman, who led thousands of others to storm the Capitol on January 6, 2021. According to Erin Smith, he killed himself while on his way to work with his service weapon.
According to Smith’s complaint, during the Jan. 6 riot, a metal tactical “cane” wielded by Walls-Kaufman, a chiropractor from Washington, D.C., struck him in the face. Another Capitol attack defendant, Taylor Taranto, allegedly gave Walls-Kaufman the cane, and Emily Smith is suing him as well. However, the claims were suspended after Taranto was charged with a separate gun and threats case.
“Kaufman was part of the insurrectionist mob inside the U.S. Capitol and was being escorted out of the building by MPD officers,” according to Emily Smith’s complaint. “Co-defendant Taranto handed Kaufman a cane, crowbar, or similar object. Kaufman, in turn, violently swung the cane, striking Officer Smith in the face/head.
According to NBC News, Walls-Kaufman was sentenced to two months in prison in June 2023 after pleading guilty and admitting to having “scuffled” with officers. Like nearly all Jan. 6 offenders, he was pardoned by Donald Trump at the start of his second term.
According to Erin Smith’s filing, the attack was a violent crime of opportunity, with her husband “in a particularly vulnerable situation because his face shield was up—leaving his face and eyes exposed.” The complaint alleges that Kaufman “specifically and maliciously targeted Officer Smith” because his visor was in the upright position, making him vulnerable to the “brutal and vicious attack.”
Erin Smith told jurors Monday that learning her husband had shot himself with his service revolver were “the most traumatic words I’ve ever heard,” according to the Associated Press.
“You just don’t know what to do,” she replied.
The testimony on damages related to the assault is expected to begin on Monday.
