Sean Tanner died in October, making this Christmas the first one the police officer’s family would celebrate without him.
But the family made sure he would not be forgotten.
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His older sister, Brittany Garcia, gifted their parents a custom-made teddy bear dressed as a police officer. The bear had included a recording of his voice.
Garcia posted a video of their mom being overcome with emotion after opening the present on Christmas Eve.
“My little brother died in the beginning of October, for Christmas I got my parents a build a bear in a police uniform (he was a cop) with his voice,” she wrote.
The touching video went viral and has been retweeted more than 73,000 times.
Garcia responded to the attention her family’s video was receiving online, thanking those sending well-wishes to her family.
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She explained that while her brother did work as a police officer for China Lake Police Department in California, he did not die in the line of duty.
The sister also addressed criticism she received online over the video, saying that hearing Sean’s voice is not like “ripping open a wound.”
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“My family has a need to hear his voice, it’s not ripping open a wound (like people have said) because our wound hasn’t closed and probably never will. My mom LOVES her gift!” she wrote.
Garcia added that her favourite moment of the touching video is one that many people might not notice.
It’s at the end of the video, when her young son says, “Sean’s in heaven.”
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