Jan. 6 Officer who was killed in riot, his wife feels it is her duty to represent him at hearings

WASHINGTON -- Thursday's statement by the widow of a suicide victim officer said that she felt compelled to stand for him at the Jan.

Dorothy Lee
Dorothy Lee
09 June 2022 Thursday 18:34
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Jan. 6 Officer who was killed in riot, his wife feels it is her duty to represent him at hearings

WASHINGTON -- Thursday's statement by the widow of a suicide victim officer said that she felt compelled to stand for him at the Jan. 6 hearings.

Erin Smith, who was married Washington, D.C., Officer Jeffrey Smith, will not be testifying as a witness, however, she stated that she would like to speak for her husband.

Smith said to Hallie Jackson of NBC News that they should know the experiences of an officer who is no longer with us. "They have heard from those who are still here and the ones who aren’t have a story."

Smith indicated that she would be willing to testify before a House committee at a future hearing. Her attorney David Weber stated that there have been discussions between the panel and Smith about potential testimony. On Thursday, she will be attending the first hearing of the committee.

Nine days after the Capitol attack, Jeffrey Smith committed suicide. His death was ruled suicide in March after it was discovered that he had been killed while serving his duty. A board determined that the injuries sustained on the day of the attack were the "sole cause" of his death.

His widow has been experiencing emotional moments over the past 24 hours. The FBI arrested one of Smith's men in connection to her husband's murder. Washington chiropractor David Walls-Kaufman faces four misdemeanors.

Walls-Kaufman is seen holding Smith's baton with one hand, and Smith is clearly shaken after the encounter. He was also attacked later that evening when he was struck with a metal pole. An official from law enforcement said that the FBI is still trying to locate the person who threw this pole.

Erin Smith stated that it was very stressful to listen Thursday to Walls-Kaufman in court, just before the first hearing of the committee. She expressed hope that the committee will uncover the truth about what occurred on Jan. 6, 2021.

Smith stated, "At the end the day things don't happen unless somebody is responsible." "I believe the truth will emerge."

Smith described her husband as a kind, funny man who experienced fundamental changes due to the Jan. 6 injuries. Smith's estate hired a former Washington chief medical inspector to find "a direct cause-and-effect relationship between Jeffrey Smith's death and the line of duty trauma on Jan. 6" and Smith "had no prior history of depression or mental health issues."