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| Jersey Officer Mourned at Police Funeral: ‘It Could Be Any One of Us’ | Jersey Officer Mourned at Police Funeral: ‘It Could Be Any One of Us’ |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| JERSEY CITY, N.J. — It was only a week ago that this city along the Hudson River across from Manhattan was overtaken by an atmosphere of panic and horror after two people fatally shot a police officer and mounted a deadly assault on a kosher supermarket. | JERSEY CITY, N.J. — It was only a week ago that this city along the Hudson River across from Manhattan was overtaken by an atmosphere of panic and horror after two people fatally shot a police officer and mounted a deadly assault on a kosher supermarket. |
| On Tuesday, as a cold rain fell and thousands of people gathered to pay their respects to the slain officer, Detective Joseph Seals, the mood in this city of a quarter million residents had shifted to one of collective grief. | On Tuesday, as a cold rain fell and thousands of people gathered to pay their respects to the slain officer, Detective Joseph Seals, the mood in this city of a quarter million residents had shifted to one of collective grief. |
| “He was just a great guy,” said Jersey City’s police chief, Michael Kelly, in a eulogy at the funeral Mass. He added, “Those of you working in blue, you know what that means. You know the difference. Most of us will never get to that level.” | “He was just a great guy,” said Jersey City’s police chief, Michael Kelly, in a eulogy at the funeral Mass. He added, “Those of you working in blue, you know what that means. You know the difference. Most of us will never get to that level.” |
| Before the funeral, the streets outside St. Aedan’s Church were lined for blocks with columns of uniform officers. They stood under dreary skies, shoulder to shoulder in their crisp dress blues, to honor a fellow officer killed in the line of duty. | |
| “We’re here to pay respects,” said Lt. Frank Todd of the Edison Police Department in New Jersey. “This is something we all face. Any day, it could be any one of us.” | “We’re here to pay respects,” said Lt. Frank Todd of the Edison Police Department in New Jersey. “This is something we all face. Any day, it could be any one of us.” |
| Inside the church, a smaller group of mourners remembered Detective Seals as a devoted husband, an adoring father of five children and a veteran of the force who loved his job. | Inside the church, a smaller group of mourners remembered Detective Seals as a devoted husband, an adoring father of five children and a veteran of the force who loved his job. |
| “He loved his family more than anything in the world,” said Detective Seals’s son Adrian, who also described his father as an American hero. | |
| Speaking for his family, he later added: “It really hurts us that we won’t be able to spend any more time with him.” | |
| Detective Seals was killed last week in a confrontation that began a chain of events in which five more people, including the two attackers who gunned him down, died in what officials said was an anti-Semitic attack on the kosher grocery store. | Detective Seals was killed last week in a confrontation that began a chain of events in which five more people, including the two attackers who gunned him down, died in what officials said was an anti-Semitic attack on the kosher grocery store. |
| The others who were killed — Leah Mindel Ferencz, who helped run the market; Moshe Deutsch, a rabbinical student who was there shopping; and Douglas Miguel Rodriguez, an immigrant who worked at the store — were mourned at separate services last week. | The others who were killed — Leah Mindel Ferencz, who helped run the market; Moshe Deutsch, a rabbinical student who was there shopping; and Douglas Miguel Rodriguez, an immigrant who worked at the store — were mourned at separate services last week. |
| During his eulogy, Chief Kelly said Detective Seals lived for fighting wrongdoing, “gang nonsense,” shootings and, especially, hate-based violence like last week’s attack. | During his eulogy, Chief Kelly said Detective Seals lived for fighting wrongdoing, “gang nonsense,” shootings and, especially, hate-based violence like last week’s attack. |
| If Detective Seals were still alive, Chief Kelly said, he would be in the streets patrolling that very evening. | If Detective Seals were still alive, Chief Kelly said, he would be in the streets patrolling that very evening. |
| Near the end of his remarks, an emotional Chief Kelly paused and looked at the coffin. | |
| “Hey, Joe,” he said. “We got it from here.” | “Hey, Joe,” he said. “We got it from here.” |
| The hundreds of mourners sitting in pews adorned with blue and black ribbons burst into applause. | The hundreds of mourners sitting in pews adorned with blue and black ribbons burst into applause. |
| The funeral service lasted about an hour and a half. Others who spoke included Detective Seals’s partner and Jersey City’s mayor, Steven Fulop, who called the detective “one of our best officers.” | |
| A portrait of Detective Seals in uniform, with an American flag in the background, was placed by the right of the altar. Throughout the service, mourners wept; toward the end, as bagpipers played “Amazing Grace,” their cries turned into louder sobs. | A portrait of Detective Seals in uniform, with an American flag in the background, was placed by the right of the altar. Throughout the service, mourners wept; toward the end, as bagpipers played “Amazing Grace,” their cries turned into louder sobs. |
| Some of the police officers assembled to pay tribute outside the church came from as far as Baltimore, Fort Worth and Boston. Others, from closer to home, streamed toward the church all morning, bringing traffic to a standstill. | Some of the police officers assembled to pay tribute outside the church came from as far as Baltimore, Fort Worth and Boston. Others, from closer to home, streamed toward the church all morning, bringing traffic to a standstill. |
| Officer J.R. Faigin of the Fort Worth Police Department, who arrived from Texas early Tuesday, said: “It’s important to stand up, to stand for our brothers and sisters so that their families feel our support.” | Officer J.R. Faigin of the Fort Worth Police Department, who arrived from Texas early Tuesday, said: “It’s important to stand up, to stand for our brothers and sisters so that their families feel our support.” |
| Around 10 a.m., the streets had been silent as the hearse bearing Detective Seals’s coffin made its half-mile journey from the McLaughlin Funeral Home to St. Aedan’s. As part of the procession, about a dozen police officers on horses and hundreds of others on flashing motorcycles led the way. | Around 10 a.m., the streets had been silent as the hearse bearing Detective Seals’s coffin made its half-mile journey from the McLaughlin Funeral Home to St. Aedan’s. As part of the procession, about a dozen police officers on horses and hundreds of others on flashing motorcycles led the way. |
| A troop of bagpipers walked in front of the hearse, while behind it marched a riderless black horse draped in a white blanket embroidered with Detective Seals’s name. As legions of officers accompanied the car, the steady beat of a drum guided their steps. | A troop of bagpipers walked in front of the hearse, while behind it marched a riderless black horse draped in a white blanket embroidered with Detective Seals’s name. As legions of officers accompanied the car, the steady beat of a drum guided their steps. |
| When the hearse came to a stop, the officers stood at attention, their arms raised in salute. The coffin, wrapped in an American flag and covered with plastic to protect it from the driving rain, was carried past Detective Seals’s family and into the church. | When the hearse came to a stop, the officers stood at attention, their arms raised in salute. The coffin, wrapped in an American flag and covered with plastic to protect it from the driving rain, was carried past Detective Seals’s family and into the church. |
| Attorney General William P. Barr was also in attendance, but those gathered were not just law enforcement officials. Members of four mosques in Jersey City had set up a tent between the church and the funeral home and were offering officers coffee and doughnuts. | Attorney General William P. Barr was also in attendance, but those gathered were not just law enforcement officials. Members of four mosques in Jersey City had set up a tent between the church and the funeral home and were offering officers coffee and doughnuts. |
| “We thought, something simple to show our support,” said Yasser Abduaalla, the manager of a nearby mosque, Masjid As-Salam. The mosque’s imam, he said, was at the funeral itself. | “We thought, something simple to show our support,” said Yasser Abduaalla, the manager of a nearby mosque, Masjid As-Salam. The mosque’s imam, he said, was at the funeral itself. |
| Annette Benitez, 52, has a 29-year-old son who is a Jersey City police officer. She and her daughter were outside St. Aedan’s. | Annette Benitez, 52, has a 29-year-old son who is a Jersey City police officer. She and her daughter were outside St. Aedan’s. |
| Her son was friendly with Detective Seals, she said, and, as a mother, she wanted to be at the funeral procession. | Her son was friendly with Detective Seals, she said, and, as a mother, she wanted to be at the funeral procession. |
| “If you don’t walk in these shoes, you wouldn’t be able to understand,” she said about having a child on the force. “The long, late nights. The phone rings. The worry. My heart goes out.” | “If you don’t walk in these shoes, you wouldn’t be able to understand,” she said about having a child on the force. “The long, late nights. The phone rings. The worry. My heart goes out.” |
| Even before Detective Seals’s funeral, on Monday afternoon, several hundred people gathered for a wake at the McLaughlin Funeral Home, waiting in the cold to pay tribute. | Even before Detective Seals’s funeral, on Monday afternoon, several hundred people gathered for a wake at the McLaughlin Funeral Home, waiting in the cold to pay tribute. |
| Alex Lalaoui, a local youth soccer coach, did not know the slain officer, but he nonetheless felt compelled to attend the wake out of respect for the police force. | Alex Lalaoui, a local youth soccer coach, did not know the slain officer, but he nonetheless felt compelled to attend the wake out of respect for the police force. |
| “When something happens to them, it happens to my family,” Mr. Lalaoui said. “Between today and tomorrow, to me it is a national moment of honoring our officer.” | “When something happens to them, it happens to my family,” Mr. Lalaoui said. “Between today and tomorrow, to me it is a national moment of honoring our officer.” |
| Detective Seals joined the Jersey City Police Department in 2006 after spending several years with the Hudson County Corrections Department. He was born in Jersey City, graduated from high school in Bayonne, just to the south, and lived with his wife and children in North Arlington, about eight miles north and west of the streets he patrolled. | Detective Seals joined the Jersey City Police Department in 2006 after spending several years with the Hudson County Corrections Department. He was born in Jersey City, graduated from high school in Bayonne, just to the south, and lived with his wife and children in North Arlington, about eight miles north and west of the streets he patrolled. |
| He had been promoted to detective in November 2017, and he was most recently assigned to a citywide initiative geared toward reducing shootings and making gun arrests. | He had been promoted to detective in November 2017, and he was most recently assigned to a citywide initiative geared toward reducing shootings and making gun arrests. |
| On the day he was killed, Detective Seals was apparently on his way to meet a confidential informer at Bayview Cemetery in Jersey City’s Greenville neighborhood, about three miles from the funeral home where friends, family members and colleagues gathered on Monday. | On the day he was killed, Detective Seals was apparently on his way to meet a confidential informer at Bayview Cemetery in Jersey City’s Greenville neighborhood, about three miles from the funeral home where friends, family members and colleagues gathered on Monday. |
| He had been exchanging text messages with his mother about Christmas presents for his children, but he had stopped replying by around noon. | He had been exchanging text messages with his mother about Christmas presents for his children, but he had stopped replying by around noon. |
| It was around that time, officials said, that Detective Seals noticed a van in the cemetery. He was not in uniform, and it was unclear whether he called for backup. He confronted a man and a woman who were in the van, whom the authorities have identified as David N. Anderson and Francine Graham. They shot and killed him. | It was around that time, officials said, that Detective Seals noticed a van in the cemetery. He was not in uniform, and it was unclear whether he called for backup. He confronted a man and a woman who were in the van, whom the authorities have identified as David N. Anderson and Francine Graham. They shot and killed him. |
| From there, Mr. Anderson and Ms. Graham drove about a mile to the JC Kosher Supermarket. They stormed into the store, unleashing a fusillade and killing one of the store’s owners, an employee and a customer. By the end of the firefight, Mr. Anderson and Ms. Graham were found dead. | |
| The authorities later said that they were investigating the attack as an act of domestic terrorism. On Tuesday, outside the funeral, police officers were stationed on several rooftops, antiterrorism officers were interspersed with the crowd, and an armored vehicle was parked nearby. | |
| Ed Shanahan contributed reporting. | Ed Shanahan contributed reporting. |