The death of a Washington DC police officer who died by suicide days after he was attacked during the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol has officially been ruled a line-of-duty death.

The widow of Jeffrey Smith said he had called that day the worst of his entire life. Following the attack on the Capitol, Erin Smith said her husband was ‘just not his normal self.’

His widow Erin Smith fought for a year for the District of Columbia retirement board to reverse an earlier decision denying that her late husband’s death was in the line of duty.

But this week Washington’s Police and Firefighters’ Retirement and Relief Board wrote in a letter that January 6 was the ‘sole and direct cause’ of the Metropolitan police officer’s January 15 suicide.

Four DC police officers died by suicide in aftermath of the attack, when then-President Donald Trump had hundreds of his followers storm the US Capitol in an attempt to prevent the certification of Joe Biden’s presidency.

The board found evidence that the police officer had taken his own life due to the immense injuries he suffered during the deadly attack on the Capitol.

This ruling will allow his widow to receive a yearly annuity equal to her husband’s salary. It also creates the possibility for a memorial service to be held for him at the Capitol Rotunda and for other honors typically bestowed to officers who died while on duty, the Washington Post reported.

Medical reports submitted to the board said Jeffrey Smith lost consciousness after he was struck in the head during the riot. He later exhibited ‘mood and behavioral changes’ that ultimately led to his suicide.

‘Officer Jeffrey Smith would still be alive today if he hadn’t risked his life to defend all of us at the US Capitol and our democracy itself on January 6th,’ said Representative Don Beyer, who represents Smith’s district in Congress.

Smith was one of four Metropolitan police officers who have died by suicide after guarding the building that day. Four people died on the day of the riot, and a Capitol police officer who had been attacked by protestors died the following day. Over 100 DC police officers suffered from injuries from the attack.

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