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Domestic violence policy changes and disciplinary action recommendations for two Asbury Park Police officers are the result of a Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office internal affairs investigation into the June 6, 2015 murder of Tamara Seidle.

While the investigation found no actions by law enforcement could have prevented Seidle’s death, it did reveal a lack of effective communication by the first officer at the scene, and that a senior officer [third on the scene] did not take command as he his charged to do, Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni [at right] said in an interview.

Instead, the most senior officer left the scene on two separate occasions – once to escort the Seidles’ youngest child to headquarters, and once to transport the first officer at the scene back to headquarters.

“[His] decisions to leave the active crime scene on two occasions demonstrated poor leadership and judgment and violated several Asbury Park Police departmental policies,” Gramiccioni said. “This poor leadership, however, did not rise to the level of criminal conduct.”

Gramiccioni declined to provide the names of the officers who should face disciplinary charges and said that discipline would come from the local police department.

Seidle, a mother of nine children, was shot 12 times by her estranged husband Philip, a sergeant in the Neptune Police Department, following a car chase from their Neptune neighborhood across the border into Asbury Park.

The morning chase ended in a three-car crash at the corner of Ridge and Sewall, at which time the veteran Neptune officer fired two rounds of shots that resulted in his ex-wife’s death.

Seidle pleaded guilty to Aggravated Manslaughter and other charges on March 10.

“This office will recommend that he be sentenced to the maximum 30 years in prison at his September 2016 sentencing,” Gramiccioni said.

“The justifiable public outcry over Tamara Seidle’s murder at the hands of a law enforcement officer, who was sworn to protect the public from violence, necessitated a comprehensive analysis of the horrific events of that morning,” Gramiccioni said. “The goal of this review, separate and distinct from the criminal investigation, was to determine whether all applicable Attorney General guidelines, policies and laws were followed by the initial responding officers at the scene and the Neptune Township Police Department, Seidle’s employer.”

In his final report of the investigation, Gramiccioni outlines a detailed timeline of events, including 911 calls made pertaining to the incident.

Use of Deadly Force:

Gramiccioni said the responding officers were correct in their choice to not use deadly force against Seidle.

State law prohibits using lethal force against anyone deemed suicidal or a threat to themselves, he said. A second factor was that doing so would have posed a threat to the civilian onlookers [shown in police photos and videos taken by the civilians themselves].

“Even during the brief period when Seidle was discharging his gun and not threatening suicide, responding officers had no ability or opportunity to shoot without creating a substantial risk to innocent civilians in this densely populated neighborhood,” Gramiccioni said.

Preferential Treatment:

“There is no information to support a premise that Philip Seidle received preferential treatment by responding law enforcement officers,” Gramiccioni said. “It is clear, however, that the fact that Seidle was a well-known police officer contributed to the confusion and chaos of the scene.”

In addressing civilian video footage showing a fellow Neptune Township police officer embracing Seidle following his surrender, Gramiccioni said it is common practice to call in those closest to someone threatening to harm themselves in order to aid in a surrender.

He said when the Neptune officer arrived at the scene, he was “unaware of the extent of the victim’s injuries or that his suicidal friend, Seidle, was in fact homicidal and had just killed his wife. Upon learning, after Seidle’s surrender and arrest, what had transpired prior to his arrival to the scene, [the officer] expressed regret and embarrassment at having embraced Seidle at the time of his surrender.”

Domestic Violence History:

The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office investigation revealed 21 police calls for service since 1994 by the couple – seven of those calls were related to custody issues and seven were classified as domestic violence related calls. No charges or restraining orders were ever filed.

But the investigation did reveal an undetected domestic violence call in January 2012. The Tinton Falls incident was found after the Prosecutor’s Office did a county wide search for domestic calls pertaining to the couple. Seidle reportedly placed his hands around the throat of his girlfriend’s teenage daughter but the no charges or restraining orders were filed.

Neptune Township was not made aware of the incident, Gramiccioni said. The teenager was not given a victim notification form nor was she advised of her domestic violence rights, Gramiccioni said. The Tinton Falls Police Department also failed to prepare any investigation reports concerning the incident.

The Investigation

The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Professional Responsibility Unit [Internal Affairs] investigation included the review of statements from 110 individuals – 57 police officers from Neptune and Asbury Park Police Departments; 30 interviews with residents who live in the neighborhood; 13 workers employed by the nearby Campbell Supply company; 4 civilians present in the neighborhood that day; as a well as with those from a nearby school; staff from the Asbury Park Fire Department and those from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s and Sheriff’s Offices, Gramiccioni said.

There was an extensive review of documents and video footage captured via police dash cameras and by civilians. Analysis of radio communications and 911 calls related to the events led to the re-creation of a timeline of events and a gathering of documented reports related to the couple’s domestic violence history was conducted.

Policy and Procedural Changes

“All police departments in Monmouth County have been, and will be directed to re-train, review and reinforce with their officers appropriate protocols and procedures in relaying information via police radio during critical incidents,” Gramiccioni said.

As a result, critical policy and procedure flaws were detected, Gramiccioni said.

“It is clear that domestic violence incidents that do not rise to the level of the filing of criminal charges or a temporary restraining order may still call into question the fitness-for-duty of a police officer,” he said. “Moreover, a police officer who has numerous Internal Affairs complaints – either due to internal departmental policy violations or from complaints by citizens – raises a red flag which may warrant a fitness-for-duty evaluation by the agency.

A county-wide Early Warning System will be implemented to address the gaps unveiled in hind sight, Gramiccioni said.

“The policy will provide both the employing police agency and the Prosecutor’s Office with the opportunity to intervene before such an officer places others or themselves in harm’s way,” he said.

Gramiccioni outlines them as follows:

A mandatory reporting to the Prosecutor’s Office of all allegations regarding police officers who either commit or were victims of domestic violence, whether or not charges are filed or a restraining order is issued.

Mandatory notification by the responding police agency of any domestic violence incident that takes place outside the municipality where the officer is employed, whether or not charges are filed or a restraining order issued. Notification must be made to both the officer’s employing agency and the Prosecutor’s Office.

Mandatory notification to the Prosecutor’s Office any time an officer is sent for a fitness-for-duty evaluation, regardless of the underlying reason for the evaluation.

Mandatory notification to the Prosecutor’s Office any time an officer is disarmed, regardless of the underlying reason for the disarming.

Mandatory notification to the Prosecutor’s Office any time an officer receives three citizen complaints within a six month period, regardless of the reason.

Mandatory retention of an itemized list, within the officer’s internal affairs file, of all materials forwarded to the physician conducting a fitness-for-duty evaluation and made available to the Prosecutor’s Office upon request.

The Tinton Falls Police Department has been directed to provide supplemental training to its officers regarding the domestic violence reporting process, including the use of victim notification forms and completing reports as necessary and required.

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