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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.

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[-] rogue_optimism@lemm.ee 15 points 1 day ago

He doesn't have to. The MAGAts will start a gofundme or some billionaire will pay the bill.

Can't have any precedents that might deter Boomer criminals in the future.

[-] CosmicTurtle0@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 1 day ago

No billionaire is going to pay this.

More likely is that MAGAts will harass if not kill the widow for even thinking of suing one of them.

[-] rumba@lemmy.zip 1 points 22 hours ago

He could simply sue the government and get it back.

[-] partial_accumen@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

Why would billionaire MAGA pay? We were told many times that the insurrectionists were antifa. So this guy must be antifa too.

this post was submitted on 24 Jun 2025
225 points (100.0% liked)

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