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A Washington, DC, cop who committed suicide after the US Capitol breach was struck in the head with a metal pole during the deadly siege — and was never quite the same, his wife said in a report Friday.
Capitol Police Officer Jeffrey Smith, 35, suffered the blow while defending the building on Jan. 6 at 5:35 p.m. when a rioter tossed the object, hitting his face and helmet, according to the Washington Post.
After enduring the injury, Smith was placed on sick leave and suffered constant pain before killing himself roughly a week after the building was breached, his wife Erin Smith, told the paper.
“He wasn’t the same Jeff that left on the sixth [of January]… I just tried to comfort him and let him know that I loved him,” she said. “I told him I’d be there if he needed anything, that no matter what we’ll get through it. I tried to do the best I could.”
Smith, who was ordered back to work on Jan. 14, shot himself in the head the next day, inside his Ford Mustang near a scenic overlook of the Potomac River, the paper reported.
During the building breach, Smith told his wife he feared for his life, at one point sending her an ominous text that read, “London has fallen.”
He was one of two DC cops who committed suicide in the days following the US Capitol riot.
Capitol Police Officer Howard Liebengood also took his own life soon after the insurrection.
If you or someone you know needs help, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255).
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