Cop killed by her husband will not be honored

Posted at 2:37 PM on March 20, 2013 by Bob Collins (6 Comments)

If a police officer is on duty when her husband hunts her down and shoots her to death, did she die in the line of duty?

The people in charge of the National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial have decided not to add Jennifer Sebena 's name on its wall.

Sebena, a Wauwatosa, Wisconsin police officer, was killed, allegedly by her husband, who is accused of stalking her and shooting her on Christmas Eve as she worked.

"It's appalling and a travesty. Apparently the rationale appears to be they have classified Jen Sebena's murder as a domestic violence incident, and it is completely offensive," Jim Palmer, Wisconsin Professional Police Association president, tells the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

This afternoon, Wisconsin attorney general J.B. Van Hollen urged reconsideration.

"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," he wrote in a letter to the CEO of the memorial.

---

Comments (6)

I read the newspaper article and still don't understand why they consider her death to be "in the line of duty" as a police office. Tragic? Yes. Did it happen WHILE she was working as a police officer? Yes. Did it happen BECAUSE she was working as a police officer? No. That seems to me to be why she won't be on the wall. Had she not chosen to be a police officer she still would, tragically, be dead. She died while on duty, not in the line of duty.

Posted by Jeff | March 20, 2013 3:29 PM

---

I strongly disagree - she did die in the line of duty. She was working and someone shot her. It doesn't matter who the shooter was.

Posted by Suzanne | March 20, 2013 3:39 PM

---

I am a cop and if i die "on duty" whether it be because of a piano falling on me or a drug dealer. I am in uniform. I am sure that her duty isn't just to protect the public, but also to protect herself and she died and was unable to protect herself.

Posted by Military Police | March 20, 2013 4:52 PM

---

I do not respond to what is in the news but the situation which a police offer will not be honored because her husband killed her is very upsetting!

This officer was on the job and her coward husband sought her out and put an end to her life.

The key is that she was on duty! I hope you realize this and change your views and honor this person, this very brave police officer.

This police offer has no voice so I hope I can speak for her!!!

Dean John Schmidt

Posted by Dean John Schmidt | March 20, 2013 9:19 PM

---

I would like to see a panel discussion that examines the reason why more and more people feel they have to resort to gun violence.Perhaps because more and more people have easy access to guns?

Posted by Lawyer | March 21, 2013 7:53 AM

---

Would she be on the wall if her husband killed her when she was asleep, in her own home, in her own clothes, not working as a police officer?

Would she be on the wall if she died after retiring from the force?

What is different between what happened (murdered while wearing a uniform) and the two cases above?

(I'm not trying to be a jerk but I honestly don't know why she should be honored for dying "in the line of duty" in this case. If you can explain it to me, I'll understand and agree with you.)

Posted by Jeff | March 21, 2013 10:38 AM

---

Post a comment

The following HTML tags are allowed in your comments:
+ Bold: <b>Text</b>
+ Italic: <i>Text</i>
+ Link: <a href="http://url" target="_blank">Link</a>
Fields marked with * are required.

Name*:

E-mail Address*:

URL:

Remember personal info?

Comments*:

Comment Preview appears above this form upon pressing the "preview" button. Edit your comment and press "preview" again, until you are satisfied with your comment.

Your comment may not appear on the blog until several minutes after it was submitted.

• E-mail this page
• Print this page
• Tweet this page
• Share this

Services

• Hourly Newscast
• HD Radio
• iPhone App / Mobile
• E-mail newsletters
• RSS feeds
• Podcasts
• Submit your photos
• Videos
• Weather
• Most e-mailed stories