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Accused Jan. 6 rioters must still face wrongful death suit

homesafetytechpros — Thu, 23 Jan 2025 21:30:55 +0000

Background: Taylor Taranto and Dr. David Walls-Kaufman inside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 attack (Department of Justice). Left inset: Capitol Police Officer Jeffrey Smith (Jack Reznicki). Right inset: Donald Trump speaks after meeting with members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters at their headquarters on Jan. 31, 2024, in Washington (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik).

President Donald Trump may have criminally absolved Jan. 6 participants through pardons, commutations and dismissals this week, but that doesn’t erase the civil lawsuits that are currently pending against several rioters.

Defendants Taylor Taranto and Dr. David Walls-Kaufman, for instance, of Washington state, are both still facing wrongful death lawsuits for attacking a Capitol Police officer who shot and killed himself after suffering from “severe depression” and a “brain injury” caused by a concussion he allegedly sustained at their hands.

As first noted by the Tri-City Herald, Trump’s pardon does not dismiss the civil lawsuit filed by Erin Smith, the widow of Jeffrey Smith, who died by suicide on Jan. 15 just nine days after he was allegedly attacked during the Capitol riot by Taranto and Walls-Kaufman. Court filings viewed by Law&Crime on Thursday confirm the case is still active.

Jeffrey Smith used his service weapon to take his life while on the way to work, his wife says.

During the Jan. 6 riot, Jeffrey Smith was allegedly struck in the face by a metal tactical “cane” that Walls-Kaufman — a D.C. chiropractor — was wielding that day. Taranto is accused of giving him the cane.

“Kaufman was part of the insurrectionist mob inside the US Capitol and was being escorted out of the building by MPD officers,” the wrongful death suit says. “Co-Defendant Taranto handed a cane or crowbar (or similar object) to Kaufman. Kaufman, in turn, violently swung the cane and struck Officer Smith in the face/head.”

Erin Smith’s filing describes the attack as a violent crime of opportunity, with her husband being “in a particularly vulnerable situation because his face shield was up — “leaving his face and eyes exposed,” the lawsuit says.

“It appears that Kaufman and Taranto specifically and maliciously targeted Officer Smith because his visor was in the upright position, making him vulnerable to this brutal and vicious attack,” the suit charges.

Taranto, a U.S. Navy veteran, was caught on surveillance video clashing with Capitol police alongside Walls-Kaufman, prosecutors said. His trial for his alleged actions that day was scheduled to begin in May before it was scrubbed this week. Walls-Kaufman was sentenced in June 2023 to two months in prison after pleading guilty and admitting that he “scuffled” with officers, according to NBC News.

Taylor Taranto appears amidst the melee at the U.S. Capitol Complex on Jan. 6, 2021. (Erin Smith lawsuit)

Last Thursday, Erin Smith’s lawyers filed a motion to compel in the wrongful death case, seeking a response to a subpoena that had been served on the Metropolitan Police Department in connection to what happened to her husband, according to court documents viewed by Law&Crime. Police officials responded Thursday with a filing saying it had compiled the requested info.

Erin Smith has called the attack on her husband an “unlawful” and “intentional” assault.

“As a direct and proximate result of the intentional assault … which, in turn, caused Smith’s death, Erin Smith sustained pecuniary loss, mental anguish, emotional pain and suffering, loss of society, loss of companionship, loss of comfort of protection, loss of marital care, loss of filial care, loss of attention, loss of advice, loss of counsel, loss of training, loss of guidance and loss of consortium,” her suit says.

In addition to Jan. 6, Taranto was arrested and charged for allegedly showing up to former President Barack Obama‘s home in Washington, D.C., in 2023 toting guns, ammunition and possible supplies for an explosive device.

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Family of woman killed by gator files wrongful death suit

homesafetytechpros — Sun, 28 Jan 2024 17:11:10 +0000

Bill Serge stands with his attorney Gary Lesser next to a photo on Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla., of his 85-year-old mother, Gloria Serge, who was killed in an alligator attack on Feb. 20, 2023. The Serge family filed a lawsuit Thursday against the Wynne Building Corp., which owns the Spanish Lakes senior complex in Fort Pierce where the attack occurred. (AP Photo/Terry Spencer)

The family of an 85-year-old woman who was killed by an alligator while walking her dog outside her Florida home filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the community’s property management firm.

Gloria Serge was walking her dog, Trooper, outside her Spanish Lakes Fairways home that abuts a pond in Fort Pierce on Feb. 20, 2023. Surveillance video of the attack shows Serge and the dog walking at the water’s edge while alligator begins to swim over from the other side of the pond. Seemingly unaware of the alligator’s looming presence, Serge and Trooper continue their walk until the 10-foot alligator lunges out of the water. Serge falls down as Trooper scurries away and the alligator pulls her into the water by her left foot. Neighbors, hearing her screams, called 911 but the alligator drowned her before first responders could rescue her.

Officials captured and euthanized the alligator.

On Thursday, her family filed a lawsuit against Wynne Building Corporation, which manages the retirement community. The lawsuit claims the company failed to maintain safe premises and should have removed the alligator because it was considered a “nuisance” as it exceeded 4-feet in length.

It also said because the property manager sent her a letter saying she had to walk the dog either in her backyard or at a dog run about a mile away, it essentially forced her to walk the dog near the pond.

“In other words, the Defendant encouraged, if not forced, the Decedent to walk her dog near a retention pond that it knew, or should have known, contained large, dangerous alligators that constituted a nuisance under the definition developed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission,” the lawsuit said.

Lawyers representing Serge’s family also say that property managers allowed residents and staff to feed the alligators in the pond behind her home which “substantially increased” the likelihood of an attack. The law firm also says it has evidence that maintenance workers in the community previously fed the alligator that killed Serge chicken scraps and named him Henry.

“There were no signs posted around the lake warning residents of the presence of an alligator, and the property managers encouraged people to sit near the lake by placing a bench along the shoreline,” attorney Gary S. Lesser said in a press release. “This flies in the face of common sense and warnings from wildlife experts.”

Serge’s family spoke at a press conference about the lawsuit. She was a mother of five, grandmother of 15 and great-grandmother of nine. She lived in the community for more than 30 years. Her son Bill Serge, 62, said he received a phone call about an emergency at his mother’s house.

“I was told there had been an event and law enforcement was on the scene,” Bill Serge said, according to Treasure Coast Newspapers. “But I never could have imagined the agonizing way in which my mom spent the final moments of her life.”

Wynne Building Corporation president Joel Wynne told CNN that as a longtime resident of the community, Serge knew of the presence of alligators and that they were dangerous.

“We certainly understand the tragedy and the feelings of Mrs. Serge’s family. However, we developed Spanish Lakes Fairways 37 years ago. We have approximately 3,000 residents. This is the very first time where a resident was attacked by an alligator,” he said.

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