FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DATE : June 19, 2017

KIRSTEN SEIDLE, et al. v. NEPTUNE, et.al.

United States District Court Trenton Visinage
Civil Action No: 3:17-cv-04428

PRESS RELEASE

The children of Tamara Seidle have filed their wrongful death lawsuit in federal district
court in connection with the horrific and tragic shooting death of their 51 year old mother
Tamara by their father Philip Seidle on June 16, 2017. Philip Seidle was a former Sergeant with
the Neptune Township Police Department. He is currently serving a 30 year sentence on a plea
of aggravated manslaughter after having used his service weapon to fire multiple shots in two
(2) separate rounds into the vehicle driven by Tamara after chasing her off the road and into a
parked car on Sewell Avenue in Asbury Park, New Jersey.

Representing the family is the oldest child, Kirsten Seidle, now 26 years old and the
guardian of the minor children and Administratrix of Tamaras estate. The children range in age
from nine (9) to twenty-six (26). Despite losing their mother and being estranged from their
jailed father, the family remains devoted to each other. With the support of a large network of
friends, organizations, church and faith, along with a period of psychological and grief
counselling, the children have been able to attend school, work and attempt to restore a
modicum of normalcy to their lives.

Other than filing a notice of their intent to sue, the family has remained silent as their
father was prosecuted and sentenced to a long prison term on September 29, 2016. The time
for silence is now over. The time has come, through the legal process and the assistance of
their attorney, Shelley L. Stangler, Esq., to uncover, pursue and examine the multiple causes of
the shooting and how and why it could have and should have been prevented.

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 The family has brought suit against Neptune Township, Asbury Park, Monmouth County
and the Monmouth County Prosecutor, including several officials, who they allege are
responsible for the death of their mother.

Although the family thanks the Prosecutor and his office in seeing that their father went
to jail for his despicable crime, the interests of the family and the Prosecutor are no longer
aligned.

The failure of law enforcement to take domestic violence and the marginalization of
women seriously, coupled with a breakdown of proper reporting and the failure to properly
investigate these and all use of force incidents by internal affairs, are key to the allegations of
misconduct in this case. The children recall numerous incidents where the police came to the
family residence during which Philip Seidle was having rage fits and harassed and threatened
Tamara Seidle. The Complaint notes several of these incidents. There is reason to believe that
the police came to the home to deal with Philip Seidle on several occasions which were not
properly reported or documented. This stands in stark contrast to the report provided to the
public by the Prosecutor.

Shelley L. Stangler, the familys attorney, states: We have reason to believe that the
Neptune police knew much more than has been indicated about the violence being perpetrated
against Tamara by Philip Seidle than has been provided to the public. Based on that knowledge
we have alleged that Neptune Township, along with the Prosecutor, failed to properly discipline
Seidle, failed to keep him disarmed, wrongfully reinstated him and allowed him to continue to
use his service weapon, which he ultimately did use to kill Tamara Seidle. These claims
remain allegations at this time and will be the subject of discovery to prove them in a court of
law.

The Complaint also addresses potential misconduct by the Asbury Park Police who failed
to intervene to prevent the shooting, failed to follow standard police protocols and procedures

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at the scene, and evidenced a significant lack of training in response to an active shooting
event, in addition to problems with dispatch. These claims remain allegations at this time and
also need to be proven in a court of law.

The family will now have the opportunity to review the Prosecutors files and findings,
identify the officers involved and take depositions and discovery to expose the true facts and
provide justice and closure to the family who have suffered greatly from the loss of their
mother.

Ms. Stangler continues: This case is not just about Philip Seidle. It is about the abject
failure of the police to ferret out and deal with the known abuse, harassment and violence of
one of their own against a spouse. It is about the failure of the police to provide the assistance
required by the Attorney General guidelines in matters involving domestic violence. It is about
the gross lack of training and supervision evidenced at the scene of the shooting. It is about
taking the action necessary to prevent these types of occurrences by proper management and
supervision by police officials, which we intend to prove did not occur here.

Law Offices of Shelley L. Stangler

155 Morris Avenue, 2nd Floor
Springfield, NJ 07081
973-379-2500
Email: shelley@stanglerlaw.com
Fax: 973-379-2500
Web site: www.stanglerlaw.com