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 U.S. Capitol from a mob of rioters, including a man who scuffled with the officer during the attack.
The eight-member jury ordered that 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, Metropolitan Police Officer Jeffrey Smith, inside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. 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. 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.
Walls-Kaufman, who lived a few blocks from the Capitol, denied 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.
On Friday, the jury sided with Erin Smith and held Walls-Kaufman liable for assaulting her 35-year-old husband - an encounter captured on the officer's body camera.