Man fatally shot by officer in courthouse incident sought suicide 'by cop,' cousin says
A knife-wielding man’s Tuesday attack on a security officer at a Pennsylvania courthouse was “random, not personal,” the Chester County district attorney says.
DA Tom Hogan and others praised the swift reaction of a courthouse deputy for saving a slashed colleague by fatally shooting to death the alleged attacker, Curtis Smith, 34, reports the Philadelphia Daily News.
Meanwhile, a cousin of the claimed assailant said the attack was out of character for the man she knew. Apart from an arrest earlier this year, after allegedly climbing over a wall at the White House in Washington, D.C., Smith had lived a law-abiding life, said his cousin, Sonni Walton.
Walton told the Daily News she believes Smith had not recovered from the murder of his father, Smith’s closest friend, by Smith’s brother in 2012. Walton said she thinks both the Chester County Courthouse incident and the earlier White House incident stemmed from a desire by Smith to commit suicide in a “death by cop” scenario.
Although he wasn’t getting the help he needed, Smith “was a great guy,” Walton said. ” “I just want people to understand he wasn’t a monster.”
It appears that a courthouse deputy reportedly slashed in the arm and hand by Smith is recovering from his injuries. An investigation is continuing, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Man fatally shot in courthouse lobby by deputy scaled White House wall earlier in year, DA says”
