Officer's Suicide After Capitol Riot Declared Line-Of-Duty Death

WASHINGTON, DC — The death by suicide of a D.C. police officer who fought to protect the U.S. Capitol from rioters on Jan. 6, 2021, has been deemed a line-of-duty death.

The District of Columbia's Police and Firefighters' Retirement and Relief Board ruled Wednesday that Metropolitan Police Officer Jeffrey Smith, who lived in Northern Virginia, "sustained a personal injury on January 6, 2021, while performing his duties and that his injury was the sole and direct cause of his death."

The ruling makes his family eligible to receive benefits, CNN reported.

The board’s determination came after a struggle of over a year by his widow, Erin Smith, to win official recognition of the fact that her husband’s death occurred in the line of duty.

The board issued an order to Erin Smith on Wednesday, vacating a previous decision to deny her survivor's benefits. The decision granted her an annuity equal to her late husband's pay.

“Officer Jeffrey Smith would still be alive today if he hadn’t risked his life to defend all of us at the U.S. Capitol and our democracy itself on January 6th," U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-8th) said in a statement. Smith lived in Beyer's congressional district in Northern Virginia.

Smith's "heroism led to his death, which absolutely occurred in the line of duty, and the official acknowledgement of that fact is an important moment that I hope will bring a measure of solace to his family and friends," Beyer said.

"I am particularly thinking of Erin Smith tonight, who has shown remarkable tenacity and courage through the terrible ordeal that began with the loss of her husband and lasted through the long fight to win this recognition," Beyer said.

Smith died on Jan. 15, 2021, after leaving his Virginia home for what would have been his first day back to work following a medical leave.

Video evidence showed Smith getting hit in the head with a metal pole by the Jan. 6 rioters. “We took the evidence from the autopsy, expert witnesses, body camera footage and federal subpoenas to prove that Jeff suffered a traumatic brain injury on Jan. 6,” Erin Smith's lawyer told CNN.

If you or someone you know is considering harming themselves, help is available. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline can be reached at 800-273-8255. Immediate help is also available in an emergency by dialing 9-1-1.