WAUWATOSA (WKOW) – A Wauwatosa police officer killed on the job is being denied a spot on a national memorial honoring those killed in the line of duty.
The federal agency in charge of the National Law Enforcement Memorial says they won't include Officer Jennifer Sebena's name on the memorial because of the manner in which she died.
Police say Officer Sebena was gunned down on her regular patrol route by her husband on Christmas Eve day.
Representatives for the memorial consider Officer Sebena's death an incident of domestic violence, which does not garner Officer Sebena a place on the monument in Washington D.C.
The decision has outraged the community Officer Sebena once served. A friend of Officer Sebena, Hannah Martin, says, "She dedicated her life to protect us and help others, so why can't we do something for her?" Local police officers and friends are petitioning online to get Sebena's name on the monument.
Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen sent a letter to the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, urging him and the Memorial Fund to include Officer Sebena on the Memorial saying in part, "I strongly disagree that Officer Sebena's death was not in the line of duty. I strongly disagree with any suggestion that a line of duty death cannot result from an incident of domestic violence. For these reasons, I also disagree with the decision not to include Officer Sebena on the Memorial." A link to Attorney General Van Hollen's letter is available here.
Due to all the attention on Facebook and other social-media sites, along with dozens of phone calls to the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund, its board of directors will meet Thursday to reconsider Officer Sebena's case.
