Jury awarded $500,000 to widow and estate of the police officer who killed himself nine days after the January 6 riot
A federal jury on Monday awarded $500,000 to the widow and estate of a police officer who killed himself nine days after he helped defend the US Capitol from the mob that attacked on January 6, 2021, including a man who scuffled with the officer during the uprising.
The eight-member jury ordered the man, 69-year-old chiropractor David Walls-Kaufman, to pay $380,000 in punitive damages and $60,000 in compensatory damages to Erin Smith for assaulting her husband, Washington DC metropolitan police officer Jeffrey Smith, inside the Capitol. They awarded an additional $60,000 to compensate Jeffrey Smith’s estate for his pain and suffering.
The judge presiding over the civil trial dismissed Erin Smith’s wrongful-death claim against Walls-Kaufman before jurors began deliberating last week. Federal 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.
Walls-Kaufman, who lived a few blocks from the Capitol, denied assaulting Smith. He says any injuries that the officer suffered on the day of the Capitol attack occurred when another attacker threw a pole that struck Smith around his head.
