WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Coming to court this week, a police officer's widow wanted to prove that a man assaulted her husband during a mob's attack on the U.S. Capitol and ultimately was responsible for the officer's suicide nine days later. A jury's verdict Friday amounted to only a partial victory for Erin Smith in a lawsuit over her husband's death.
The eight-member jury held a 69-year-old chiropractor, , liable for assaulting Metropolitan Police Officer Jeffrey Smith inside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. They will hear more trial testimony before deciding whether to award Erin Smith any monetary damages over her husband's assault.
But the judge presiding over the dismissed Erin Smith's wrongful-death claim against Walls-Kaufman before jurors began deliberating. U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes said no reasonable juror could conclude that Walls-Kaufman's actions were capable of causing a traumatic brain injury leading to Smith's death.
Reyes divided the trial into two stages: one on the merits of Smith's claims and another on damages. For the damages phase, jurors are expected to hear attorneys' closing arguments Monday.
In the meantime, the judge urged the parties to discuss a possible settlement over the weekend. Reyes said it would be 鈥渆xceedingly rational鈥� for both sides 鈥渢o get this behind you鈥� and avoid the time and expense of an appeal.
Erin Smith claimed Walls-Kaufman gave her husband a concussion as they scuffled inside the Capitol. Jeffrey Smith was driving to work for the first time after the Capitol riot when he shot and killed himself with his service weapon.
His widow claims Walls-Kaufman struck her 35-year-old husband in the head with his own police baton inside the Capitol, causing psychological and physical trauma that led to his suicide. Smith had no history of mental health problems before the Jan. 6 riot, but his mood and behavior changed after suffering a concussion, according to his wife and parents.
Walls-Kaufman, who lived near the Capitol, denies assaulting Smith. He says any injuries that the officer suffered on Jan. 6 occurred later in the day, when another rioter threw a pole that struck Smith around his head.
Walls-Kaufman served a 60-day prison sentence after pleading guilty to a Capitol riot-related misdemeanor in January 2023, but he was pardoned in January. On his first day back in the White House, President Donald Trump pardoned, commuted prison sentences or ordered the dismissal of cases for all of the charged in the attack.
Trump's didn鈥檛 erase Smith鈥檚 lawsuit against Walls-Kaufman.
Erin Smith, the trial鈥檚 first witness, recalled packing a lunch for her husband and kissing him as he headed off to work on Jan. 15, 2021, for the first time after the riot.
鈥淚 told him I loved him, said I would see him when he got home,鈥� she testified.
Within hours, police officers knocked on her door and informed her that her husband was dead. She was stunned to learn that he shot himself with his service weapon in his own car.
鈥淚t was the most traumatic words I鈥檝e ever heard,鈥� she recalled. 鈥淵ou just don鈥檛 know what to do.鈥�
Walls-Kaufman鈥檚 attorney, Hughie Hunt, urged jurors to 鈥渟eparate emotion鈥� and concentrate on the facts of the case.
鈥淭his is tragic, but that doesn鈥檛 place anything at the foot of my client,鈥� Hunt said during the trial鈥檚 opening statements.
Smith鈥檚 body camera captured video of his scuffle with Walls-Kaufman. In his testimony, Walls-Kaufman said he was overcome by 鈥渟ensory overload鈥� and 鈥渕ass confusion鈥� as police tried to usher the crowd out of the Capitol.
鈥淚 couldn't tell who was pushing who or from what direction,鈥� he said.
The police department medically evaluated Smith and cleared him to return to full duty before he killed himself. Hunt said there is no evidence that his client intentionally struck Smith.
鈥淭he claim rests entirely on ambiguous video footage subject to interpretation and lacks corroborating eyewitness testimony,鈥� in a court filing in the case.
More than 100 law-enforcement officers were injured during the riot. Capitol Police Officer collapsed and died a day after engaging with the rioters. A later determined he suffered a stroke and died of natural causes. Howard Liebengood, a Capitol police officer who responded to the riot, also died by suicide after the attack.
In 2022, The District of Columbia Police and Firefighters鈥� Retirement and Relief Board determined that Smith was injured in the line-of-duty and the injury was the 鈥渟ole and direct cause of his death,鈥� according to the lawsuit.
Michael Kunzelman, The Associated Press
