Jennifer Sebena, 320 Other Fallen Officers Now Part of National Memorial

Thousands of people began flowing Saturday into Washington, D.C., for National Police Week, filling a sacred section of the northwest portion of the capital and the national memorial honoring fallen officers.

Wauwatosa police officer Jennifer Sebena, a Menomonee Falls resident who was killed on duty on Christmas Eve 2012, is among those who will be honored. Her name freshly etched into one of the two 304-foot-long marble walls that are now part of the living National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.

The names of more than 19,000 officers who have been killed in the line of duty are etched into those walls. This year, 321 were added.

The curving blue-gray marble with all those names on it was dedicated in 1991, and it has become the focal point of National Police Week every year since, with friends, families and fellow officers trekking to Washington to, as one entrance to the memorial implores, "Respect. Honor. Remember."

Many of those who visit the wall place paper over an engraved name on the wall, then use a pencil to create a traced impression of the name. It's their way of taking the name on that wall home with them.

National Police Week, established in 1962, pays special recognition to those law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty. Events are held throughout the week.

On Monday, thousands will gather at the memorial for a candlelight vigil, where Sebena's name will be read along with 320 others that have been added to the wall since last year. A service and wreath-laying will be held on Wednesday. Wauwatosa Police Chief Barry Weber will be the featured speaker at the ceremony. Patch and our partners at WISN 12 News will provide coverage of the event.

Related:

• National Police Week 2013 full schedule of events
  
  
• Jennifer Sebena among those honored at Wisconsin ceremony