Morris County First Responders Mourn Slain Jersey City Officer

MORRIS COUNTY, NJ - Messages of mourning are coming from first responders from all corners of Morris County to honor Jersey City Police Officer Joseph Seals, 39, who was shot and killed in the line of duty Tuesday.

"Our thoughts and prayers for Det. Joseph Seals and his family," the Chatham Borough PBA 226 wrote on social media in the hours immediately following the incident.

The Washington Township Police Department echoed their sentiments on their Facebook page, noting that their thoughts were with the Jersey City Police Department.

The 39-year-old Seals was a married father of five. He was not killed in the shootout but where Tuesday's dramatic incident first began, in Bayview Cemetery on Garfield Avenue, according to Jersey City Police Chief Mike Kelly. That incident sparked an hourslong shootout with two heavily armed gunmen which resulted in their death as well as the death of three civilians. Read more: 6 Killed In Jersey City Shooting Standoff; Police Officer Dies

Morris County Sheriff James M. Gannon and the Sheriff's Office said their thoughts and prayers were with the Seals family and the Jersey City Police Department.

“We are saddened by the events of the day and are grieving with our community for those we have already lost,” Gannon said.

Morristown Department of Public Safety said they also were sending thoughts and prayers to those who knew Seals.

"May God Bless him, his family and all the victims of today's horrific incident. We stand with our brothers and sisters of the entire JCPD family," the department posted to social media.

The Mendham Township Police also asked that prayers be sent up for the Jersey City Police Department and the Seals family.

"We stand with our brothers and sisters of the Jersey City PD and the family of Det. Seals who was killed in the line of duty today," the department posted to Facebook. "He made the ultimate sacrifice to keep others safe."

Parsippany-Troy Hills Fire District 6 said that their thoughts and prayers are with the men and women of Jersey City and their families.

"Rest in peace Detective Seals. Thank you for your service and sacrifice," they noted on social media.

The Parsippany Police Department also tried to put their grief to words.

"There are simply no words to express the pain and sadness caused by yesterday’s shooting in Jersey City. Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Jersey City Police Department Detective Joseph Seals, along with the innocent civilians killed during yesterday’s shooting," the department posted to Facebook. "Officers head to work every day fully expecting to go home to our loved ones, in Det. Seals case, it was a wife and five children, but sadly he did not get to finish his shift and see them once more."

Seals, hailed as a hero, became a Jersey City cop in 2006, and was promoted to detective in 2017. He had been working with in the city's Cease Fire Unit.

Fulop and Jersey City Police Commissioner Michael Kelly said Seals did more to take guns off the streets than anybody in the department.

"When you lose an officer, they say, 'He's a great officer and he took pride in his job,' and they tell you all the great things he did for Jersey City, or she did," Fulop said. "In this situation it happens to be true, 100 percent."

Eleven years ago, Seals was one of two officers who broke through a window to tackle a man sexually assaulting a woman; The Jersey Journal saluted him them and his partner as "hero cops."

The Morris County Office of Emergency Management asked that everyone keep Seals, the Jersey City Police Department and all of the innocent who lost their lives in their thoughts and prayers. For their part, the Madison PBA 92 called the person who shot Seals a coward before calling for prayers for seals, the Jersey City Police Department and first responders everywhere.

“Our first responders put their lives on the line for us each and every day. Our thoughts are with the officers, their families and Jersey City following today’s shooting,” said Madison Mayor Robert H. Conley.

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