The widow of a Jan. 6 police officer who died by suicide—after suffering from a “brain injury” and “severe depression” she says was the result of defending the Capitol—was handed a bittersweet outcome in federal court on Friday as a demonstrator was found liable for the assault, but not her husband’s death.
Background: David Walls-Kaufman inside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 attack, according to DOJ prosecutors (Department of Justice). Inset: Capitol Police Officer Jeffrey Smith (Jack Reznicki).
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes told Emily Smith, widow of Metropolitan Police Officer Jeffrey Smith, that she did not believe jurors were capable of deciding whether David Walls-Kaufman’s actions had caused Jeffrey’s suicide, according to The Associated Press, which covered Smith’s civil trial last week in Washington, D.C.
Reyes reportedly said it would be “exceedingly rational” for both sides “to get this behind you” and consider a settlement to avoid wasting time and money on an appeal.
Love true crime? Sign up for our newsletter, The Law&Crime Docket, to get the latest real-life crime stories delivered right to your inbox.
An eight-member jury went on to find Walls-Kaufman liable for assaulting Jeffrey Smith, opening the door for Emily to possibly receive monetary damages. Additional testimony and closing arguments are slated to take place this week as Reyes chose to split the trial up into two parts, one on Smith’s claims and the other on damages, the AP reports.
The trial opened last Monday with emotional testimony from Emily Smith 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, said I would see him when he got home,” Erin Smith testified, according to the AP.
Jeffrey Smith died by suicide just nine days after he was attacked by Walls-Kaufman, who joined thousands of others to storm the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. He used his service weapon to take his life while on the way to work, Erin Smith says.
More from Law&Crime: ‘Oral argument will proceed as scheduled’: Appeals court rejects Trump bid to delay his own appeal in E. Jean Carroll defamation case, handing him second loss in one week
During the Jan. 6 riot, Jeffrey Smith was allegedly struck in the face by a metal tactical “cane” that Walls-Kaufman — a Washington, D.C., chiropractor — was wielding that day, according to Smith’s complaint. Another Capitol attack defendant, Taylor Taranto, allegedly gave Walls-Kaufman the cane — with Emily Smith suing him as well. The claims were suspended, though, after Taranto was charged in 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,” Emily Smith’s complaint says. “Co-Defendant Taranto handed a cane or crowbar (or similar object) to Kaufman. Kaufman, in turn, violently swung the cane and struck Officer Smith in the face/head.”
Walls-Kaufman was sentenced in June 2023 to two months in prison after pleading guilty and admitting that he “scuffled” with officers, according to NBC News. Like nearly all Jan. 6 offenders, he was later pardoned by Donald Trump at the start of the president’s second term.
Erin Smith’s filing describes the attack as a violent crime of opportunity, with her husband being “in a particularly vulnerable situation because his face shield was up — “leaving his face and eyes exposed.” Kaufman “specifically and maliciously targeted Officer Smith” because his visor was in the upright position, making him vulnerable to the “brutal and vicious attack,” the complaint charges.
“You just don’t know what to do,” she said.
Testimony on damages related to the assault is expected to begin Monday.
