A former Neptune Township police sergeant who gunned down his ex-wife as she sat helplessly in the driver's seat of her car had an internal affairs file that is nearly 700 pages - and was asked to stay on the force even after he offered to retire prior to the 2015 slaying.

That's according to a new lawsuit filed Monday.

Less than a year after Philip Seidle -- who had already served two suspensions for domestic violence and briefly had his service weapon taken away -- offered to turn in his badge and his gun for good, he used that same weapon to pump a dozen shots into his ex-wife, Tamara Wilson-Siedle, in broad daylight on an Asbury Park street on June 16, 2015.

The new lawsuit, filed by the nine Seidle children, includes explosive new allegations that their 54-year-old police officer father had an internal affairs file that is 682 pages with excessive force complaints starting in 2004.

In one claim, the lawsuit says, Seidle hit a man on a bicycle with his police car and then kneed and kicked him. He also allegedly threw a man on top of a police cruiser and then beat him, punching him in the jaw and kicking him in the ribs.

When coupled with Seidle's long, documented past of physical and verbal abuse against Wilson-Seidle, 51, Monmouth County authorities at the local and county level ignored warning signs that ultimately led to her death, the lawsuit contends.

They also failed to take action after Wilson-Seidle personally visited Neptune police officials, including Chief James Hunt Jr., to "complain about the mistreatment, abuse, threats and behavior" of her estranged husband, the lawsuit states.

Three weeks after a divorce ending a 23-year marriage was finalized in 2015, Philip Seidle chased Tamara Wilson-Seidle as she drove through Asbury Park, eventually ramming her car at the intersection of Ridge and Sewall avenues.

Philip Seidle got out and fired eight rounds through his ex-wife's driver's side window. Two minutes later, in the presence of several Asbury Park police officers, he fired off another four rounds through her windshield.

The couple's youngest daughter, who was riding with her father, escaped into the hands of police during the break in shots fired.

Seidle pleaded guilty on July 15, 2016, to aggravated manslaughter and child endangerment and was sentenced to 30 years in state prison.

An original lawsuit filed on June 16, 2017, was dismissed by U.S. District Court Judge Michael A. Shipp because the plaintiffs "lumped" defendants together.

According to this lawsuit, from 2012 up until the date of the shooting, there were at least 12 documented domestic violence or incident calls to police from Wilson-Seidle.

His service weapon was taken away in 2012 after he canceled a dispatch call to police placed by Tamara Wilson-Seidle in regard to domestic violence.

Seidle went to see a police psychologist who declared him unfit for duty. A year later, however, his service weapon was returned to him.

A probe by the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office noted that authorities returned Seidle's service weapon after seeking permission from Tamara Wilson-Seidle.

However, the lawsuit says that Philip Seidle would "use physical force and assault her if she complained or took any action to create problems for him at the job, that she would suffer grievous harm as a result including financial ruin."

Seidle would go on to be suspended twice from the force.

Less than a year before the shooting, beset by the ongoing trouble with Wilson-Seidle, Philip Seidle offered to retire.

"But instead of accepting his resignation," the lawsuit states, "knowing of the explosive nature of the couple' confrontations and the history of domestic violence and prior discipline, the Neptune Defendants gave Seidle a free pass and asked him to stay."

Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexnapoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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