"I'm shocked": Deputy's wife responds to no memorial fund for fallen officers

FORT MYERS, Fla. - Fort Myers Police Officer Andrew Widman left for his shift and never returned home.

It's a fear many married to law enforcement feel everyday, worried something may happen that would prevent their loved ones from making it home safe.

One woman is trying to establish a fund to help families should anything happen.

Bobbi Cardinale is a wife of a Lee County Sheriff's deputy, she has a two year old and another baby on the way.

She says she can't imagine if someone knocked on her door saying her husband was never coming home.

Cardinale says there currently isn't a local memorial fund set up for families of law enforcement, EMS, and firefighters killed in the line of duty. She's hoping to change that.

She's talking to Senator Dave Aronberg's office and Representative Nick Thompson's office to start a non-profit organization called "Fallen Heroes of the Badge"

One of the things she needs to get it up and running is people to sign a petition.

She says, "I feel that after the overwhelming support to the Widmans I really feel the community will come together and it's going to be amazing."

There is a local non-profit group called "Herocare" which is raising money for the Widman family but does not currently have a memorial fund set up for law enforcement.

Petition for Local Memorial Fund: www.ourfallenheroesofthebadge.com
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