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Cousin: White House jumper's courthouse death was "suicide"

Curtis Smith, charged in March with unlawful entry at the White House, allegedly attacked a deputy sheriff and was shot to death

Curtis Smith (inset) jumped a White House fence in March before being stopped by Secret Service personnel. A cousin on Tuesday described that incident as a prior attempt by Smith at suicide. Smith was shot and killed by officers in the lobby of the Chester County Justice Center on Tuesday, August 25, 2015. ( DAVID SWANSON / Staff Photographer )
Curtis Smith (inset) jumped a White House fence in March before being stopped by Secret Service personnel. A cousin on Tuesday described that incident as a prior attempt by Smith at suicide. Smith was shot and killed by officers in the lobby of the Chester County Justice Center on Tuesday, August 25, 2015. ( DAVID SWANSON / Staff Photographer )Read more
    by BY WILLIAM BENDER, Daily News Staff Writer <a href="mailto:benderw@phillynews.com">benderw@phillynews.com</a>, 215-854-5255
    Published 

CURTIS SMITH survived a run-in with the Secret Service in March when he hopped a White House fence, claiming that he wanted to pass a message to President Obama.

The 34-year-old Coatesville resident was charged with unlawful entry in that incident.

Chester County deputy sheriffs were not as kind yesterday morning when Smith arrived at the Criminal Justice Center, allegedly swinging a knife.

Tom Hogan, the county's district attorney, said Smith entered the lobby of the building around 11 a.m. and "slashed" a deputy sheriff. Another deputy sheriff then shot Smith, who was treated at the scene and transported to Paoli Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Some witnesses told TV reporters that Smith yelled "I'm going to get you" as he burst into the building on Market Street in West Chester. Hogan said that the alleged attack was "random, not personal."

That's because it was a "death by cop" scenario, according to Smith's cousin, Sonni Walton. The White House incident was likely a prior attempt, she said.

"He definitely was distraught. Curtis had been crying out for help, but everyone had been ignoring him," Walton told the Daily News. "The jumping the White House fence was an attempted suicide."

Walton said Smith never fully recovered from the 2012 murder of his father by his brother.

"If you really wanted to kill somebody, you don't take a knife. That was clearly attempted suicide to me," Walton said. "He walked into a courthouse where he knew everyone had a gun."

Smith was a well-loved boxer and martial artist with two boys and a wife, Walton said. She said he may have become "mentally unstable" after the death of his father, whom she described as his "best friend."

"No one was giving him help, but Curtis was a great guy," Walton said. "I just want people to understand he wasn't a monster."

Hogan said the deputy sheriff that Smith allegedly attacked was transported to a hospital for treatment of his arm and hand and was in stable condition. The courthouse was put on lockdown and remained closed to the public the rest of the day.

"This was a model response to a violent incident," Hogan said.