By Barb McQuade 

Dear Listener,

Last week, the wife of a police officer who was on duty during the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol filed a lawsuit against two men for his wrongful death. His cause of death? Suicide. 

Officer Jeffrey Smith was one of four officers who took their own lives after surviving the attack on the Capitol. Officer Smith shot himself nine days after the siege, and one day after he had been ordered back to work after receiving treatment for injuries he suffered in the riot.  According to the lawsuit, Officer Smith was struck in the head with a metal bar and knocked to the ground by the defendants. The claim alleges that a traumatic brain injury caused Officer Smith to commit suicide.