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Jury Awards $500,000 to Widow of Officer Jeffrey Smith for Assault During Capitol Riot

Jurors concluded Walls-Kaufman assaulted Smith during the Capitol riot, resulting in a $380,000 punitive award with $120,000 in compensatory damages

This image from the Department of Justice statement of facts to support an arrest warrant for David Walls-Kaufman, shows an image from police body-worn video, contained and annotated by the source, of David Walls-Kaufman in the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (Department of Justice via AP)
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Overview

  • David Walls-Kaufman was ordered to pay $380,000 in punitive damages and $120,000 in compensatory damages to Officer Smith’s widow, Erin Smith, and to his estate
  • U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes dismissed Erin Smith’s wrongful-death claim before jurors began deliberations, limiting the case to the assault allegation
  • Officer Jeffrey Smith died by suicide nine days after the Jan. 6 attack, and a D.C. Police and Firefighters’ board ruled his on-duty head injury was the sole and direct cause of death
  • Walls-Kaufman, who served a 60-day prison sentence after pleading guilty to a Jan. 6 misdemeanor, denies striking Smith and maintains another rioter inflicted the officer’s injury
  • The verdict highlights ongoing accountability challenges for Jan. 6 participants and intensifies debate over President Trump’s pardons of those involved