Police Could Have Stopped Cop From Allegedly Killing His Ex-Wife In Daughter's Presence: Experts

Experts say police could have stopped an off-duty cop from Monmouth County from repeatedly shooting his ex-wife as she sat in her car on an Asbury Park street — even if it meant using deadly force.

Jon Shane, an associate professor at John Jay College’s Department of Law & Police Science and Criminal Justice Administration, said deadly force could have been used against Phillip Seidle on Tuesday since he was an immediate threat to his ex-wife, Tamara.

“They would have been justified,” Shane told Patch.

Bail was set at $2 million for Phillip Seidle after he was accused of shooting and killing his ex-wife in front of their 7-year-old daughter, according to the Monmouth County Courthouse.

In the Tuesday incident, Phillip Seidle pulled out a handgun and fired multiple shots into a vehicle operated by Tamara Seidle, according to authorities.

Phillip Seidle then turned the weapon on himself, pointing the weapon at his head, before moving to the front of his wife’s car and firing several more shots into the windshield of the vehicle. He then surrendered, ending the half-hour standoff, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s office.

The prosecutor’s office said the police’s response in the case will be part of the investigation.

Robert Louden, a Georgian Court University professor and former chief hostage negotiator for the New York Police Department, said his “gut instinct” was that something more could have been done.

“It would seem to me that, in a more typical situation, that more aggressive action would have been taken,” he said.

Tom Aveni, executive director of the Police Policy Studies Council in Spofford, N.H., told The Asbury Park Press that Phillip Seidle should have been stopped from confronting his ex-wife a second time after he let his 7-year-old daughter leave the scene.

“Should they have allowed him to shoot his wife again? No,” he told the newspaper.

Shane, a former Newark cop who has seen the raw video of the shooting, noted that police have come under fire for using too much force in recent nationally publicized situations.

Indeed, police were accused of using excessive force in situations involving the deaths of African-American men in Ferguson, Mo. and in Staten Island, N.Y., and in a recent incident involving a police officer slamming a woman to the ground at a Texas pool party.

The Asbury Park shooting, however, “is an example where they needed to use more force to resolve a situation,” Shane said. “They could have jumped right in to use deadly force in this situation.”

Tamara Seidle’s medical attention should have had high priority - and should have been dealt with before talking the shooter into surrender, Shane said.

“If they know they’ve got an injured person, they have an obligation,” he said. ”Their overly restrained posture could have led to her dying.”

He noted that the Attorney General’s use-of-force guidelines gave the police officers latitude to act in that situation. The guidelines say:

“A law enforcement officer may use deadly force when the officer reasonably believes such action is immediately necessary to protect the officer or another person from imminent danger of death or serious bodily harm”

Shane said police have to “err on the side of caution” and assume that Tamara Seidle was still alive at the time, and she still could have been saved.

“If I see somebody hitting somebody over the head with a baseball bat, I don’t need to stand there and say, ‘Please stop that. I don’t want to use my gun or my baton.’ It doesn’t work that way, Shane said.

>>Related stories:

• $2M Bail For Cop Accused Of Killing Ex-Wife In Daughter’s Presence
• UPDATE: Off-Duty Cop Shoots, Kills Ex-Wife With Daughter Present, Monmouth Prosecutor Says

Many have taken to social media to criticize the officers for not taking action more quickly, noting reports that the police apparently knew Phillip Seidle.

Laurence Miller, a clinical forensic police psychologist who works with police departments in Florida, said officers should know better than that.

Miller said police officers also need to protect themselves in such situations.

“Police are required to use deadly force to protect their lives and the lives of a third party,” he said. “There’s very little chance an officer is going to show favoritism.”