Jury orders J6 pardonee to pay $500,000 in restitution to MPD officer's widow

The widow of a Metropolitan Police Officer who killed himself 9 days after J6 in 2021 has been awarded $500,000 in restitution from a 69-year-old man. David Walls-Kaufman was already cleared in the wrongful death suit of Officer Jeffrey Smith, served a 60-day prison term for his involvement in the riot that day, and was pardoned by President Trump.

Before the eight-member jury returned the verdict of damages to be paid by Walls-Kaufman, US District Judge Ana Reyes dismissed the wrongful death claims against him. Reyes told the jury that it was not reasonable to conclude that Walls-Kaufman's actions on J6 could have led to Smith's self-inflicted death 9 days later.

The allegation brought by widow Erin Smith was that Walls-Kaufman gave her husband a concussion by striking him in the head with his own police baton. "No crime happened. I never struck the officer," Walls-Kaufman said. 

As to the verdict of damages, he said, "I'm just stunned." He said the result is "absolutely ridiculous."

Smith's attorney, David P. Weber, said, "Erin is grateful to receive some measure of justice." The breakdown of the award gives $380,00 in punitive damages along with $60,000 in compensatory damages to Smith as well as another $60,000 to the officer's estate.

Officer Smith killed himself with his own service weapon while driving to work for the first time after the J6 riot. He was returning to work after he was medically cleared to do so by the Metropolitan Police Department.

The lawsuit brought by Smith against Walls-Kaufman cited the District of Columbia and Firefighters' Retirement and Relief Board, which said in 2022 that her husband's injury in the line of duty was the "sole and direct cause of his death."

"You guys settle, you can move on with your lives," Reyes said, urging both parties to sort something out and avoid both the time and cost of an appeal.