Police Officer Jeffrey Smith, 35, died by suicide, January 15, 2021.

[My Pet Orangutan]

Jeffrey and Erin Smith

Two officers who helped fight the Capitol mob died by suicide. Many more are hurting.

....

Around 5:35 p.m. [Jeffrey] Smith was .. fighting to defend the building when a metal pole thrown by rioters struck his helmet and face shield. After working into the night, he visited the police medical clinic, was put on sick leave and, according to his wife, was sent home with pain medication.

In the days that followed, Erin said, her husband seemed in constant pain, unable to turn his head. He did not leave the house, even to walk their dog. He refused to talk to other people or watch television. She sometimes woke during the night to find him sitting up in bed or pacing.

“He wasn’t the same Jeff that left on the sixth. . . . 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 returned to the police clinic for a follow-up appointment Jan. 14 and was ordered back to work, a decision his wife now questions. After a sleepless night, he set off the next afternoon for an overnight shift, taking the ham-and-turkey sandwiches, trail mix and cookies Erin had packed.

On his way to the District, Smith shot himself in the head.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/police-officer-suicides-capitol-riot/2021/02/11/94804ee2-665c-11eb-886d-5264d4ceb46d_story.html

[WhiskeyGrinder]

1. Wonder what would have happened if he had gone to the ER instead of a "police medical clinic."

[crickets]

27. I had the same thought. nt

[no_hypocrisy]

2. PTSD from combat

[TheRickles]

14. Plus possible traumatic brain injury (TBI). Tragic.

[BusyBeingBest]

3. Terrible. He couldn't make himself go back.

PTSD? Guilt for some reason? Depressed about his career? Or head trauma? Probably a combination.

[Wawannabe]

4. So sorry Mrs Smith! So sorry!

tRump caused this. This is ON HIM!

Fucking bastard killer!

[sfstaxprep]

5. The Fucking repubs View Him As Collateral Damage

And THEY are the ones who supposedly "Back The Blue"

They don't give 2 Shits about "The Blue." They care more about their own electoral prospects, and appeasing their Cult Leader.

I bet they don't even view his suicide as related to the Insurrection 9 days earlier. They're ALL Fucking Scum!

[Leghorn21]

6. RIP, young Jeff Smith

The GOP made this happen
We will not forget

[mzmolly]

7. 😢

So very sad.

[mopinko]

8. sounds like he had a cracked bone that no one picked up on.

wtf didnt someone drag him to the er?
this is awful.

[Irish_Dem]

9. He must have had a serious head or neck injury to be in constant pain?

And unable to turn his head. Were any X-rays taken?

Also yes, PTSD.

But something wrong physically as well.

[Mike 03]

10. Horribly sad.

So tragic. This is all on Trump, his enablers and his kook militias.

[gratuitous]

11. I invite Sen. Hawley to comment

And give us all a detailed explanation for why this isn't Trump's fault, and how vindictive and shameful it is to bring up Officer Smith.

[hlthe2b]

12. Wrenching account.

I find this devastating

May you find the peace stripped from you.

[BeyondGeography]

13. Ordered back to work? WTAF!

That’s a scandal in and of itself. Reform the Capitol Police. The place obviously needs to be turned upside down.

[PatSeg]

17. Seriously

I wonder if anyone will be held accountable for that decision. This was a preventable death.

[RobinA]

22. That's What Struck Me

As a 63 year old who has worked, let's say for the sake of round numbers since I graduated from college at 21, and I have had more than I can take of employers and their nasty HR rules when it comes to illness. There's nothing like having a life threatening illness and having your employer nickel and diming about time off. And I say that as a person who has probably had 20 sick days in my entire working life up until the illness. This guy needed help and he got ordered back to work. It isn't hard to see why he thought what he did was the only way out.

[BeyondGeography]

32. ProPublica just put this report out

“I Don’t Trust the People Above Me”: Riot Squad Cops Open Up About Disastrous Response to Capitol Insurrection

https://www.propublica.org/article/i-dont-trust-the-people-above-me-riot-squad-cops-open-up-about-disastrous-response-to-capitol-insurrection

From an organizational standpoint, it reads like the entire department is a disaster area.

[KPN]

29. Absolutely right. What strikes me is that he shot himself while the Trump administration was

still in place. Was the demeanor and attitude of Trump and his entire administration still pervasive within the hierarchy of the Capitol Police on January 14th, even after the Capitol storming?!

[iluvtennis]

15. Heartbreaking. May Jeffrey Smith Rest in Peace and May His Memory be a Blessing.

[cwydro]

16. Very sad.

Many have blood on their hands.

[BobTheSubgenius]

18. From outside, with no knowledge about the circumstances, it's hard to imagine what was driving him.

The resulting emotions? Much, much easier. Confusion, anger, sadness...got them all.

Peace and acceptance to his family and friends.

[My Pet Orangutan]

19. I have some experience of PTSD

You are trying to escape the trauma. Being ordered to return to the scene is a tough ask. Your whole being is trying to avoid that.

[MagickMuffin]

20. Officer Jeffery & Erin, I have been reviewing videos from that day

If I stumble upon the footage where this occurred I will be notifying the FBI with the details.

This whole episode of the past 4 years the country has suffered under trump. The 6th of January has caused me so much heartache. I know it isn't healthy to be in constant heartbreak, but how can we not as a country FEEL this?

Watching the videos in slo mo and watching the violence the hate and anger in these insurrectionists is definitely heart wrenching.

[hibbing]

21. How awful, every day my rage intensifies, but THEY back the blue right? n/t

[DENVERPOPS]

28. You have to understand "RepubliCON Speak"

Every single last thing that comes out of every RepubliCON's mouth is

#1.......Hypocritical

#2.......A complete lie

#3.......and most importantly, 180 degrees from the truth.


This is, by far, the most thoroughly corrupt political party in the history of our nation..............It is composed of nothing but self-serving, narcissistic, sadist, psychopathic, sub-human excrement.............

From this point on, I refuse to even acknowledge or speak to any RepubliCON, especially the ones I know who voted for Trump and other down ballot RepubliCONs. The RepubliCON voters are THE MOST POLITICALLY IGNORANT people ever.............

[usaf-vet]

23. I hope lawsuits can find justice for those that were hurt and inflict financial pain on those....

..... at fault.

[Hip2bSquare]

24. Mental health needs to be as important as vaccines

We need to find a way to express how important mental health is in this country. It shouldn't be shunned or ridiculed, but shown as a normal human condition.

A mental health facility or location should've been set up immediately for every single one of those officers and government officials.

It should be mandatory that after something as traumatic as the attempted coup or mass shooting or pandemic that mental health facilities be set up in a physical location or on the phone or zoom, wherever..

May his family and the family of the other officer feel the love and the strength to continue on without them.

[KPN]

30. I agree. Given what happened on the 6th, there is no excuse for this -- the sheer inadequacy

of the Capitol Police administration in not being cognizant of the trauma that the officers experienced by doing their jobs on that day. None.

[CaptainTruth]

25. God this hits me like a punch in the gut...

Such a tragedy. A horrible tragedy...

[ailsagirl]

26. So sad, so tragic

[MustLoveBeagles]

31. Yet another victim of the former Whitehouse occupant

Rest in Peace Jeffrey.

[AnotherMother4Peace]

33. Tragic. I so hope trump & his mob are held accountable. nt

[flotsam]

34. Ima going to say something that isn't PC

My brother knows a bit about being overrun-his unit was in 1970. The survivors were sent to other units and he wound up as the loader/ammo bearer to a different place. That place wound up shooting a 25 year old platoon sergeant multiple times, It was bad and haunts him big time. He is strong, but I wonder about these new suicides.