INDIANAPOLIS — The widow of a fallen officer was angered when Facebook banned a video meant to raise money for the families of police killed in the line of duty.
The sacrifice and dedication of police officers around the country make-up the three minutes video. However, it became controversial, and Facebook said it could not be posted.
Jamie Bradway will never forget Sept. 20, 2013.
Her husband, Officer Rod Bradway, was killed in the line of duty while responding to the cries of a woman involved in a domestic dispute. He sacrificed his life to save to another.
"He served with integrity and honor," Jamie said.
Since Rod's death, Jamie has leaned on the group C.O.P.S, which stands for Concerns of Police Survivors.
"C.O.P.S was there in the hospital with me the night Rod was killed, at the funeral, and it's still there," Jamie said.
C.O.P.S. stands with families of fallen officers and provides services and support.
The not-for-profit recently produced a video titled "The Reason Why," because, as Jamie told us:
"How do you tell your babies he gave his life for people he didn't know."
"It flashed before my eyes that I had to tell my kids that their father was not coming home," Jamie said. "At 29, I didn't know what forever meant."
C.O.P.S was planning to use the video on "Giving Tuesday" to raise money, like all other charities promoting their cause on that day.
But Facebook deemed the heart-wrenching stories as inappropriate and denied its posting.
"I thought this can't be, it was heartbreaking," Jamie said. "I'm a survivor, and it felt like we are being attacked all over again. How can an amazing organization be denied this opportunity."
Jamie vented on social media, but wanted to know the reason for the video ban — and put us to work.
RTV6 reached out to Facebook with Jamie's disappointment and disgust over this situation.
Facebook submitted the following statement:
“We rejected this ad in error. We apologize for this mistake and we are working to approve it so it can run.”
"While we are disappointed that our video was declined for ad promotion, we are continuing to push it to continue telling the stories of law enforcement survivors and gain more much needed support for these families and co-workers who have been affected by a line-of-duty death," Dianne Bernhard, C.O.P.S executive director, said.
