Trump accused of participating in "criminal conspiracy" to annul 2020 elections 4:34
(CNN) --
The widow of Metropolitan Police officer Jeffrey Smith has won a months-long fight to have her husband's death declared a death in the line of duty, following his suicide days after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the United States Capitol.
According to a letter obtained exclusively by CNN, the District of Columbia Police and Fire Retirement and Relief Board finds that Smith "suffered a personal injury on January 6, 2021 while on duty and that his injury was the sole cause and directly from his death.
The late Metropolitan Police officer Jeffrey Smith.
The ruling allows your family to be entitled to receive benefits.
On Wednesday night, the board issued an order to Erin Smith overturning her earlier decision to deny survivor benefits, granting her an annual lifetime fund equal to that of her late husband.
Erin Smith had last year petitioned the Board of Retirement and Relief to declare her husband's suicide a death in the line of duty.
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His attorney, David P. Weber, presented the Board with video evidence showing Jeffrey Smith being assaulted by the crowd and hit in the head with a metal pole on January 6.
He died nine days later, after shooting himself in the head while walking to work from his home in Virginia.
It was supposed to be his first day back at work after seeking medical attention for the injuries and mental trauma he suffered on January 6.
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"This was a forensic death investigation from the start," said Weber, who is also a professor of forensic accounting at Salisbury University in Maryland.
"At first, we didn't know what had happened to Agent Smith. We took autopsy evidence, expert witnesses, body camera footage and federal citations to show that Jeff suffered a traumatic brain injury on January 6."
Weber told CNN last year that "although the bullet may have been the actual cause of death, the chain of events started on January 6 and hasn't stopped."
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Smith's family now has confirmation from the Board of Retirement and Relief that his death was caused by the injuries he sustained on January 6.
The order will also entitle Smith's widow to health benefits, according to Weber.
There is no known previous case, Weber said, in which the suicide of a Metropolitan Police officer has been declared a death in the line of duty.
"Agent Smith's widow is overwhelmed because she knows this is going to help a lot of families in the future," Weber said.
"Erin Smith requests that her husband now be entitled to the ceremony and honors to which a fallen hero and her family are entitled."
Assault on the Capitol
