Widow of police officer who died in January 6 says White House should have signed bill that recognizes suicide as line-of-duty death

The widow of a police officer who died in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 riot said this week that the White House should have done more to draw public attention to a bill that for the first time recognizes suicide as a line-of- duty death.

Erin Smith, who fought for more than a year to make sure that her husband Jeffrey Smith's suicide was ruled a line-of- duty death, said President Joe Biden should have held a signing ceremony when he enacted the legislation on Tuesday.

Smith said in a statement to NBC News that the bill is not only for my husband but for all first responder families that have been tossed to the side because no one believed that their family members death was Line of Duty and caused by their job. I am disappointed to know that this bill won't get the attention it deserves. The White House released a news release Tuesday announcing the Public Safety Officer Support Act had been signed into law, along with three other bills. That same day, there was a signing ceremony for the Inflation Reduction Act.

The White House didn't respond immediately to a request for comment.

Jeffrey Smith died by suicide a few days after he was assaulted at the U.S. Capitol on January 6. Erin Smith said Tuesday that she had gone through hell and back advocating for Washington, D.C. and the Metropolitan Police Department to declare that her husband had died in the line of duty. In March, a police board found that Smith was eligible for enhanced survivor benefits because of the officer's death.

Smith's lawyer, David P. Weber, said that Smith had fought for more than a year for the ruling despite overwhelming evidence, including testimony from the city's former chief medical examiner and autopsy showing her husband's face was fractured from being beaten during the riot.

Jeffrey Smith's actions on January 6th have changed the conversation forever of police mental health and how we care for our protectors in the aftermath, Weber said in a statement.

The new law expands on a benefits program for family members of public safety officers and recognizes suicide as a line of duty death on the federal level.

Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill. and John Cornyn, R-Texas, introduced the legislation in February.

Cornyn said that this will ensure public safety officers with PTSD and families coping with the tragic loss of a loved one to suicide can get the support they deserve.

The bill's enactment was a big win for law enforcement, first responders and their families, including the families of those who protected the Capitol on January 6th, according to Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va. whose congressional district is home to Erin Smith. Erin Smith has attended public hearings held by the Jan. 6 committee on the attack on the US Capitol, saying she felt the need to represent her late husband and hoped she would be remembered as part of a group of men and women who went in there without knowing what they were going to face, who did their jobs, and saved democracy on January 6. Bodycam footage shared with NBC News showed that Smith was shaken up after a tussle with rioters inside the Capitol on January 6 when rioters grabbed his baton. He was later hit in the head outside the building when a rioter threw a metal pole at police.

A federal lawsuit filed by Erin Smith accuses two men of assaulting Jeffrey Smith inside the Capitol. One of the men, D.C. chiropractor David Walls-Kaufman, was arrested in June and charged with a number of crimes. He was not charged with assaulting Smith.