Files Released In Cop's Asbury Park Shooting Death Of Wife

ASBURY PARK – Files connected to a police officer who killed his wife in Asbury Park in 2015 were released this week, showing that the officer had troubles dating all the way back to 1994.

To increase transparency and enhance public trust, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal announced that he would release the internal affairs file of former Neptune Township Police Sergeant Philip Seidle, who shot and killed his wife.

Seidle’s internal affairs file is voluminous and includes multiple instances of domestic violence, as well as information implicating disputes with other officers, disciplinary actions, other investigations, and numerous, competing privacy interests, according to an OAG release.

In one such case, on March 28, 2014, Seidle was acting so erratically outside his wife’s Neptune home that an officer who responded to the incident wrote in a police report, “He would have been locked up for disorderly the way he was acting in front of the house," according to nj.com.

The next day, Seidle confronted the officer and accused him of writing a biased report. Seidle received two internal affairs charges for acting inappropriately toward the cop, according to nj.com: “His history of numerous violations of departmental rules and regulations and prior domestic violence incidents are clear indications that he has little or no regard for his responsibility as a member and supervisor of this department,” said the report.

You can read the redacted files here.

Seidle’s internal affairs file has been the subject of prior public requests and litigation. In 2017, the Asbury Park Press requested the file from the Neptune Police Department under the Open Public Records Act (“OPRA”).

After the news agency filed a lawsuit to gain access to the file, a Superior Court judge ruled in 2018 that such internal affairs records are not public records accessible under OPRA.

The release of the records, however, was held pending the resolution of an appeal in that case, which remains ongoing. The Attorney General filed a brief in that matter supporting Neptune’s position that the files were not subject to OPRA, but took no position concerning their release under the common law.

Recognizing the public interest in the files and the need for increased transparency to build public trust, on July 16th, Grewal testified before the New Jersey Senate’s Law and Public Safety Committee that he would be reconsidering his position.

To aid in the analysis of these records, the Attorney General’s Office retained former New Jersey Supreme Court Justice John E. Wallace, Jr. That review is now complete and the attorney general has concluded that, even though these files are not subject to disclosure under OPRA, their redacted release is in the public interest.

“As part of my ongoing commitment to strengthening the culture of transparency and accountability in law enforcement, I directed the release today of Philip Seidle’s internal affairs file,” said Grewal. “I hope that these disclosures, which build on the information and records already in the public domain, will shine further light on this matter and inform the debate over what, if any, changes are necessary to avoid such tragic incidents in the future."

Tamara Wilson-Seidle notified Neptune police about physical abuse by her ex-husband, former Neptune police Sgt. Philip Seidle, according to a lawsuit published by The Asbury Park Press two years ago.

The complaint cites the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office, the state of New Jersey, Neptune police and other law enforcement personnel as defendants, according to The Asbury Park Press.

The wrongful death lawsuit, as cited by The Press, claims these defendants knew or should have known they were violating Tamara's constitutional rights from the time of alleged domestic violence incidents up until her 2015 shooting death.

Seidle pursued his wife in a high-speed chase, with their seven-year-old daughter in his Honda Pilot SUV. The vehicles crashed on Sewell Avenue near Ridge Avenue in Asbury Park.

He used his service pistol to fire two barrages of bullets at his ex-wife while she sat in her car.
He then put the gun to his head and kept police at bay for 20 minutes. He surrendered after that and was taken into custody.

He pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter on Sept. 29, 2016. He is serving a 30-year prison term at New Jersey State Prison in Trenton.

You can read the new complaint here.