Cop Killed In Jersey City Standoff: A Hero Before; A Hero Now

JERSEY CITY – Detective Joseph Seals was a married father of five who was already a hero, a man who worked extra jobs just so he could support his family, including a newborn.

Now he will be remembered forever for giving his life.

"He was a very hard working family man," said Daniel H. Pronti, the mayor North Arlington, Seals' hometown. "He did what was best for his family, while working extra jobs. He even resurfaced my floors a while back.

"On top of all that, he still had time to be active in our great community. This is an absolute tragedy."

Seals, 39, was among six people killed on Tuesday — including two suspects and three civilians — in an hourslong shootout with two heavily armed gunmen in Jersey City. Read more: Gov. Murphy: Jersey City Attack Was 'Hate-Crime;' Video Released

Services were announced, and a GoFundMe page was set up to help the family, receiving more than $315,000 worth of donations in a single day. Read more: Fundraisers For Jersey City Shooting Victims Raise $315K In A Day

The viewing will be held on Monday from 2 to 8 p.m. at McLaughlin Funeral Home, 625 Pavonia Avenue in Jersey City. The funeral will be Tuesday at 10 a.m. at Saint Aedan's Church at 800 Bergen Avenue in Jersey City.

Seals was the kind of cop who was well-known, well-liked and never afraid to approach a situation that could be trouble, officials said.

"He was a great officer," Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop said "He took pride in his job... Officers in other precincts knew who he was because they knew he was a good cop."

Seals used to work at the Hudson County Jail, and currently had to have a second job in the flooring business to help support his family, Pronti said.

Seals 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.”

In 2010, he nabbed a serial robber wanted in two gunpoint robberies, according to nj.com, and the police chief at the time said was “urgent to make … before any victims were harmed.”

"The combination of being sharp on the job and good old-fashioned police work paid off," former Police Chief Tom Comey told nj.com.

Then came Tuesday, when Seals had to be a hero again.

Seals saw a U-Haul truck possibly linked to a murder from over the weekend in Bayonne, Kelly said. As he approached the truck, one of the suspects got out of the car and shot him.

Seals died from his injuries, and the suspects fled and holed up at a kosher market, officials said. Three civilians were killed at that scene before the suspects died.

"Today was a horrific day for the Jersey City Police Department. It was also a stellar day for us," Kelly said. "This was not the first time we’ve had a day like this and unfortunately it probably won’t be the last. The men and women of this department experienced an inconceivable loss."