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EDITORIAL Remembering two local heroes lost their lives three years ago

It only took a few minutes to realize something significant was happening in Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2019, and it remains one of the most harrowing days in Hudson County history.

At this newspaper’s office, three years ago, after receiving an alert, we all tuned into an iPhone app to listen in on the Jersey City Police Department’s frequency. There was yelling and screaming. The echoes of gunfire were so loud they were clear as anything else we heard.

Moments after we started listening, we learned several members of the Kearny Police Department, who are also members of the Hudson County Prosecutor’s SWAT team, were among scores of law-enforcement sent to there to try to end a wild scene of utter carnage.

When it was all over, two victims had a connection to our readership area — Det. Joseph Seals, of the Jersey City Police Department was a resident of North Arlington, and he was the tragedy’s first victim, having been shot in the head at Bay View Cemetery.

Douglas Miguel Rodriguez, of Harrison, was a father and husband who was a clerk at Jersey City Kosher Deli.

The loss of life was difficult to fathom. Both were married. Both were fathers. Both were incredibly special human beings who had an impact on this world.

This day also served as yet another reminder of the dangers police officers face on a daily basis. We were reminded several officers who patrol our streets were in the middle of a gun battle that, three years after, has been hard to forget. They left the Kearny and headed right into harm’s way.

Fortunately, everyone from Kearny came home unharmed, safely, on a day when two of our neighbors didn’t. Likely, neither had a thought they wouldn’t make it home that night — or ever again. But for two families, that is precisely a reality. There are two homes, one in North Arlington and one in Harrison, that remain forever changed. There could be no greater loss for a family.

We recall the heroic life of Det. Seals, a dedicated police officer and detective who gave 13+ years of his life to ensuring Jersey City’s streets had fewer guns on them — he succeeded at that.

We recall the life that was Mr. Rodriguez’s, a man who dedicated himself to his beautiful wife and daughter and who worked diligently, seven miles from home, at a deli, so things could be better for his family.

They are both heroes and their names — Joseph Seals and Douglas Miguel Rodriguez — must never, ever be forgotten. Their sacrifices may very well have saved the lives of countless others.

May they both continue to rest in eternal peace, in the arms of God, knowing they both made this world a much better — and safer — place.

Fife welcomes Washington MS leaders

Students from Harrison’s Washington Middle School recently met with Mayor James A. Fife and toured his office. All of the students have been identified and chosen because of their leadership abilities. They were joined by their principal Michael Landy, back right, and Superintendent of Schools Maureen Kroog, left center.

LaClair: What god does Steve Rogers think Americans are forsaking?

To the Editor:

Steven L. Rogers laments that our nation is in danger because we are “forsaking our God.” Which god, pray tell, is that?

Is it the god European settlers worshipped when they displaced the indigenous peoples from their land, murdering any who got in the way?

Is it the god the Confederate states put into their Constitution when they tried to keep slavery? Perhaps it was the god their forbears worshiped when they kidnapped people from Africa and brought them here on boats. That god?

Is it the god most of the country worshipped when we overthrew democracies to make sure we had plenty of cheap oil? Is that the same god who warned against selling ourselves for 30 pieces of silver; or the one who supposedly asked what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?

Fact is, our arms are too short to reach what Mr. Rogers calls God. Whether there is a god or there isn’t, no one is in a position to lecture others about it, or demand how others should see it. They can only do damage, and they have, and they do.

It is so simple, and yet so hard.

If we want to build a better world, then honor every person, treating everyone with respect and dignity. Lecturing people about something no one knows anything about can only make a tough situation worse.

Perhaps someday, we will admit this simple fact, and move into a truly brighter future.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Paul L. LaClair Kearny

In Memoriam Mary A. Tortoreti 1942-2016

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KPD: Man who hurt ex turns self in on warrant

By Capt. Timothy Wagner

Kearny Police Department

On Nov. 21 at 7:30 a.m., Officers Travis Witt and John Donovan arrested a 29-yearold Kearny man who turned himself in at police headquarters to answer for an arrest warrant. The warrant resulted from a Nov. 5 incident in which the defendant’s ex-girlfriend told police he passed by her home and saw a work van in the driveway. The defendant reportedly became upset in his belief that this van was the chariot of a competing beau, so he climbed through his exgirlfriend’s window to confront her.

Sadly, when the defendant entered the apartment, he allegedly punched his ex-girlfriend several times about the head, threw her down on the bed where he struck her some more and then held her on the bed for some time with his hand over her mouth and nose obstructing her breathing. Eventually, the defendant fled the apartment on foot.

The outstanding warrant charged the defendant with burglary, criminal mischief, aggravated assault, simple assault and criminal restraint. The man was held at the Hudson County jail.

On Nov. 19 at 8:54 p.m., Officer Cort Montanino and several other patrol officers were dispatched to a fight in the street near 145 Brighton Ave. Initial reports to police dispatch told of 30 to 40 people involved and two felled combatants lying possibly injured in the street.

The officers did not find such a scene upon their arrival. A witness told the cops some people ran down the street and others fled into a nearby house. The officers raised a resident of that house who reported something to the effect that she was having a party when a group of invitees who had noticed a fight in the street ran outside for a ringside view.

The woman, Rashell N. Paulino, 18, of Kearny, reportedly was initially uncooperative in identifying herself and then later allegedly told the officers a false identity. She was charged by summons with hindering apprehension and maintaining a nuisance, but released at the scene.

Officer Lawrence Latka and Sgt. Ben Wuelfing canvassed the area to search for anyone injured from the completed fight. They tried to stop three males who were fleeing the

area – one of whom was injured – but the males allegedly disregarded their orders to stop. The officers caught up to them, and they reportedly resisted arrest before being taken into custody. The three were later identified as Kearny boys aged 17, 16 and 16. They were later charged under juvenile delinquency with obstructing the administration of law and resisting arrest and were all later leased to guardians. On Nov. 20 at 8:50 a.m., Officers Ryan Brady, Damian Kolodziej, Mat Lopez and Sean King were dispatched to Walmart for a shoplifting. Loss prevention associates told officers a woman fled the store and entered a Honda when they POLICE confronted her on suspicion of shoplifting. BEAT Officer Lopez quickly found and pulled over the fleeing vehicle on Bergen Avenue. In the vehicle was Susana ValleEspinosa, 61, of Jersey City. Store associates accused Valle-Espinosa of concealing $712.21 of apparel, footwear and groceries in her own bags and then carrying them out of the store without paying. The stolen merchandise was also in the vehicle. Officers arrested Valle-Espinosa. She was charged by summons with shoplifting and later released. On Nov. 20 at 6:14 p.m., Officers Angel Martinez was dispatched to a residential apartment for a 911 hangup. En route the officer was updated that a dispatcher believed it might be a domestic violence incident. A 39-year-old tenant told the officer that her 21-year-old daughter, who has not lived with her for two years, forced her way into her apartment against her mother’s resistance. A struggle then ensued in which the daughter allegedly threw a vase at her mother, scratched her mother’s chest, and cut her finger. Officer Martinez arrested the daughter. She was charged with burglary, aggravated assault, weapon possession offenses, criminal mischief, and simple assault, and held at the county jail. On Nov. 21 at 10:08 a.m., Officer John Fearon responded to a report of a robbery of a store on the 800 block of Kearny Avenue. While driving to the scene, Officer Fearon saw a man fitting the robber’s description walking south on Kearny Avenue a few blocks from the scene. Officer Fearon confronted this man, later identified as Tyler R. Martin, 26, of

See KPD, Page 18

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Belleville's Coughlan turns 100, gets Melham visit 2 from Lyndhurst charged with bilking woman of life savings: Nutley PD

By Kevin A. Canessa Jr.

kc@theobserver.com

Newspaper: The Observer

Say hello to the Birthday Girl! On Nov. 21, one of Belleville’s most ‘seasoned citizens’ — Florence Coughlan — turned 100 and she received a special visit from Mayor Michael Melham, who brought her flowers and a formal municipal proclamation. She also received a call from Gov. Philip D. Murphy. 'Her home had the first-ever built-in pool in Belleville. She’s a grandmother, great-grandmother and still a "Friend" of

Michelle advertising@theobserver.com 201-991-1600the Belleville Public Library,' Melham said. 'Wishing her many more years of good

health and happiness.'

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