JERSEY CITY, N.J. – By all accounts, Detective Joseph Seals was a heroic cop who had a meritorious career. Then the 39-year-old married father of five was killed on Tuesday in a shooting that ultimately resulted in six deaths including his own. Condolences for the detective and his family quickly began pouring in from around the country.

Almost everywhere. The New Jersey State PBA expressed its fury over an NJ.com article published Tuesday evening which opined on Seals’s use of force during his policing career.

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“Seals was a veteran of violent situations,” wrote Teri West of The Jersey Journal. “He used force 20 times between 2012 and 2016, the second-highest number of any Jersey City officer during that period, according to New Jersey Advance Media’s use of force database.”

The PBA didn’t like the implication.

“A hero officer is killed today, some NJ media outlet writes about his use of force history,” the organization tweeted. “The liberal media is trash and everyone should email rvezza@starledger.com -tell them they crossed the line with their irresponsible, click bait and truly classless ‘reporting’!”

NJ 101.5 host Bill Spadea, an advocate for police causes, also weighed in on the story and the “smug bastards” behind its publication:

OUTRAGE – A hero officer is killed today, some NJ media outlet writes about his use of force history. The liberal media is trash and everyone should email rvezza@starledger.com -tell them they crossed the line with their irresponsible, click bait and truly classless "reporting"! — New Jersey State PBA (@NJSPBA) December 11, 2019

You just knew that the morally bankrupt fake journos @njdotcom couldn’t resist a parting shot at a dead cop who leaves behind a wife & five kids including a newborn. Smug bastards. Not sure who’s worse…hack ‘reporter’ or the editor? Right, both. https://t.co/IYOWUsYj47 — Bill Spadea (@BillSpadea) December 11, 2019

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