Death of Jeffrey L. Smith

Jeffrey L. Smith, a Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police officer, shot himself on January 15, 2021, nine days after he assisted the United States Capitol Police during the attack on January 6. A psychiatrist hired by Smith's widow found that drastic changes in Smith's behavior after January 6 are evidence that the attack on the Capitol was the precipitating event leading to his suicide. On October 13, 2021, two United States Senators and several members of the House of Representatives called for Muriel Bowser, the mayor of the District of Columbia, to award Line of Duty benefits to Smith and his widow Erin Smith. On March 7, 2022, Smith's death was officially declared a line-of-duty death by the District of Columbia. After petition by his widow, DC Police and Firefighters' Retirement and Relief Board found that the "direct and sole" cause of Smith's death were the injuries he received in the line of duty while responding to the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021.