Joseph Seals: Police from far away flood streets for funeral of a comrade

Show Caption Hide Caption Raw video of Jersey City Det. Joseph Seals funeral procession Raw video of Jersey City Det. Joseph Seals funeral procession on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2019, in Jersey City.

Men and women in uniform from as far away as Maryland and Canada converged on Jersey City on Tuesday to pay their respects to their fallen comrade, Detective Joseph Seals, killed in last week's shooting.

They came from Morris Township, Englewood, Newark, Atlantic City and East Orange in the frigid temperatures and falling rain. A Newark officer said there were more than 100 officers representing his department.

Members of the New Jersey State Police marched in formation up Mercer Street about an hour before the start of the funeral at St. Aedan's Church.

Next door to St. Aedan’s, Hudson Catholic High School served as a warming station, sheltering men and women in uniform from the cold, windy rain. It also served a place for officers to commiserate with one another on such a somber day.

Story continues after gallery

And coming from outside the state, filing onto Bergen Avenue, many wore the uniform of the mammoth force that is the New York Police Department. Police cars from Westchester County town such as Scarsdale flashed their lights as they moved slowly south on Bergen Avenue.

Uniformed men and women from Montgomery County and Cecil County in Maryland waited near the sidewalk on Bergen Avenue for the funeral to begin to get into formation.

MORE: Here are the official donation pages for victims of the Jersey City shooting

MORE: Hero cops in Jersey City shootout saved lives with their quick actions

Toronto police officers walked past. Department of Homeland Security officers made their way through this congregation of law enforcement officers.

Michele Delfino, a civilian who lives in the Greenville section of Jersey City, watched it all from across the street from the church.

She said Seals' death hit her hard. “I did not know him, but it happened in my city. [The police] are my family.”

Ricardo Kaulessar is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: kaulessar@northjersey.com Twitter: @ricardokaul