In the late autumn sunlight, hundreds of police officers from across the county, clad in navy blue uniforms, stood in silence in Bayview Cemetery to pay solemn tribute to a fallen brother.
Jersey City officials and police officers gathered Thursday morning to honor Jersey City Police Detective Joseph Seals, the first victim of the Dec. 10, 2019 mass shooting that claimed the lives of three other innocent civilians — considered the worst incident of domestic terrorism in state history.
“Throughout generations, ugliness and hate, sin break so many hearts,” JCPD Chaplain Victor Kennedy said during Thursday’s ceremony. “And yet, there are so many people that stand up and say no.”
Jersey City remembered the 14-year veteran of the force, who, officials said, made a sacrifice so that others could live.
A year ago, Seals was meeting an informant in the cemetery when he spotted a U-Haul van. A vehicle that matched its description had been reported stolen in Bayonne.
It’s unclear exactly what happened next, but the encounter with David Anderson and Francine Graham in Bayview cost Seals his life. The killers went from the cemetery to a kosher market on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, where they entered with guns drawn.
There, they killed Mindy Ferencz, a co-owner of the grocery; Moshe Deutsch, a Brooklyn rabbinical student; and Douglas Miguel Rodriguez, an employee, who held a door open for a wounded customer to escape before he was shot. An hours-long gun battle left Martin Luther King Drive scarred and Jersey City in mourning.
But if not for Seals, officials said afterward, the day could have been far worse.
The shooters had been planning the attack for months. The pair had tactical gear, thousands of rounds of ammunition, and five firearms between them. A bomb, powerful enough to kill or maim people five football fields away, was stashed in a van. Some speculated that the pair planned to target the yeshiva next door.
Authorities said the deadly encounter inside Bayview Cemetery alerted police to the killers’ presence and may have thrown their plans into disarray.
“He chose to walk over to a vehicle that he recognized that could have been involved in something else throughout the city,” said Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop. “And he chose to put himself in harm’s way, because he thought that that would be something that keeps other people safe here in the city.”
Seals, a 40-year-old father of five, was a revered member of the police department’s Cease Fire unit. The North Arlington resident was celebrated for confiscating more illegal firearms from the streets than anyone else.
“If you want to be an elite cop, there’s your model,” said Jersey City Police Chief Michael Kelly. “Joe Seals. I don’t care if you’re in a radio car or you’re in the best unit in the city. That’s the way it’s done.”
Four helicopters flew low overhead in a show of respect. Officials escorted Seals’ widow and family down the hill to the officer’s memorial to lay a wreath, while police officers stood still above. A single trumpeter played taps.
JCPD Chaplain Victor Kennedy likened Seals’ sacrifice to that of the Maccabees, whose own resolve will be remembered Thursday night as Jews worldwide celebrate the first night of Hanukkah.
“They sacrificed, some of them died,” Kennedy said. “But so many more lived. Today, we come to remember the wonder of sacrifice. That someone who gives his life — but because of him, so many more live.”
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Jersey City remembers Detective Joseph Seals, who died so that others could live - nj.com
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