Call to add Sebena's name to national memorial gets louder



WAUWATOSA (WITI) -- The call to add the name of a slain Wauwatosa police officer to a national memorial is getting louder.  Officer Jennifer Sebena was allegedly gunned down by her husband, Ben Sebena, while she was on duty on Christmas Eve.

Governor Scott Walker is the latest to join the call of thousands to have Sebena's name engraved on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C.

"For me, this is very personal.  Jennifer was patrolling, not just on duty, she was patrolling my neighborhood, literally went by my house that night," said Walker.

The national memorial initially chose not to include Sebena's name, seemingly because she died from an act of domestic violence.  After public outcry, the memorial's president announced they are delaying a decision on whether to add Sebena's name until 2014.

The state's largest law enforcement group, the Wisconsin Professional Police Association (WPPA), has written a letter to President Obama that reads "this is an inappropriate and outrageous insult to Officer Sebena."

The WPPA is already claiming one small victory.  Sebena is once again listed on a similar organization's website, the Officer Down Memorial Page.  Sebena's page had recently been removed.

"We are very pleased about that.  We take that as a positive development and we are going to continue to keep the pressure up," said Jim Palmer, WPPA's Executive Director.

A petition on change.org continues to gain supporters.  As of Saturday night, nearly 14,000 people had signed the petition to add Sebena's name to the national memorial.

Governor Walker recently called the memorial's president.

"I think the point was made that, regardless of who the perpetrator of that crime was, she was on duty protecting the citizens of the city of Wauwatosa," said Walker.