Line of Duty Death: Detective Joseph Seals
Detective Joseph Seals
Jersey City Police Department, New Jersey
End of Watch Tuesday, December 10, 2019
Bio
Age 40
Tour 18 years
Badge Not available
Incident Details
Cause Gunfire
Weapon Gun; Unknown type
Offender Deceased
Detective Joseph Seals was shot and killed at 12:30 pm in Bayview Cemetery after encountering two subjects in a van that was linked to a homicide in Bayonne, New Jersey.
During the encounter, Detective Seals was shot in the back of the head. The two subjects then fled in the stolen van and eventually barricaded themselves inside of a grocery store on Martin Luther King Drive. They murdered three people inside of the store and then engaged responding officers in a prolonged shootout for several hours in which two officers were wounded. Both subjects were eventually found deceased inside of the store.
Detective Seals had served with the Jersey City Police Department for 13 years and had served in law enforcement for a total of 18 years. He is survived by his wife and five children.
Please contact the following agency to send condolences or to obtain funeral arrangements:
Director James Shea
Jersey City Police Department
1 Journal Square Plaza
4th Floor
Jersey City, NJ 07306
Phone: (201) 547-5477
