The family of a security guard killed by an Army Ranger in downtown Tacoma has settled a lawsuit against two businesses alleged to have over-served alcohol to the soldier before the fatal attack in 2021.
Denise Smith, 41, was beaten to death at the Frank Russell Building, where she only recently had begun working. Smith had tried to prevent Spc. Patrick Philip Byrne from entering on July 18, 2021, The News Tribune previously reported. Byrne, 26 at the time of the attack, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was later sentenced to 20 years in prison in May 2024.
Byrne, who was stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, had been out drinking with friends from JBLM at two adjacent bar/restaurants on Pacific Avenue – The Forum and The Office – prior to the assault, according to the wrongful-death lawsuit filed in July 2024. The complaint, lodged by Smith’s father and four siblings in Pierce County Superior Court, alleged the businesses continued to serve drinks to Byrne when he was obviously intoxicated…