THE MONMOUTH COUNTY Prosecutor’s Office is conducting an Internal Affairs review of whether too little force was used by Asbury Park police at the scene of last week’s shooting by off-duty Neptune Township Police Officer Philip Seidle of his former wife.
Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni announced the investigation into the murder of Tamara Wilson-Seidle on the city streets of Asbury Park in broad daylight. Her former husband is accused of firing two volleys from his service weapon, a .40 caliber Glock, into his wife’s car while their youngest child watched from her father’s car.
The couple had nine children, age 7 to 24.
The investigators were not named but procedure typically dictates the county’s Office of Professional Responsibility and Bias Crime Bureau conduct investiga- tions into police conduct.
Two former Asbury Park policemen former Lt. Jeffrey Hughes and former Sgt. Rocco Santorsola, are part of that team, according to the county records.
Charles Webster, Public Information Officer for the county Prosecutor’s Office, confirmed the two former Asbury police officers work in the prosecutor’s office but said he did not know the panel members yet.
“It would be premature for me to confirm or deny if there were two officers on the review panel because the panel members have not been chosen yet,” he said. “I don’t know if they are on it or not.”
“This review will be conducted by our Professional Responsibility Bureau to ensure a thorough review and evaluation is performed that will stand up to the scrutiny from the community,” he continued.
“It is imperative that we look at this incident with a critical eye towards doing all that we can to understand what transpired and learning how, moving forward, we can improve from that evaluative process. “
Webster said in order to clearly understand every aspect of the response, every law enforcement officer involved in the incident will be part of the Internal Affairs review.
“Our Internal Affairs function will be limited in scope to this singular incident and the actions of those officers at the scene,” he said. “Any administrative actions based on our findings that may be imposed on anyone involved will be at the discretion of the individual police departments who employ these officers.”
Seidle was described by those who knew him as a “great cop” and a “kind man.” He and his former wife divorced May 27. A judge denied a motion to reduce Seidle’s bail, which is currently set at $2 million with no 10 percent option.
Tamara Seidle was the coordinator of religious education of the Mother of Mercy Parish and called a “pillar of faith” by the Bishop of the Diocese of Trenton, David M. O’Connell, C.M.
Webster said, “in order for the law enforcement community to maintain the trust of our citizens, and earn the trust of those that may question the sincerity of our efforts, this review process must be transparent. To that end, I will be publicly releasing a report detailing our findings. “This will be a deliberate and all- encompassing review that will take time to complete, but rest assured this review will be conducted in as expedient manner possible for all involve,” he added.
By Connor White
