Roll of Honor
Incident
Detective Albert Seltzer was accidentally shot and killed by another officer who mistook him and a second detective for burglars. The two detectives were conducting a stakeout inside a theatre at 409 Springfield Avenue in Newark. The theatre had been robbed several times during the previous weeks, and the detectives were attempting to catch a robbery in progress. Another officer, patrolling his regular beat, did not know the detectives were conducting the operation and entered the theatre with a night watchman. The officer mistook the two detectives for burglars and mortally wounded Detective Seltzer. Detective Seltzer was taken to City Hospital where he died two days later. Detective Seltzer had served with the Newark Police Division for 10.5 years and was assigned to the Detective Bureau.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, two daughters, and parents.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NJ-0D6E68CF- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Detective Seltzer gave the Newark Police Division 10 years.
Thank you for your service to the Newark community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Detective Seltzer.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Detective Albert E. Seltzer is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In NJ, 258 of 646 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 39.9% of this state's fallen. That is 8.9 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At Newark Police Division, 19 of 58 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 32.8% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Albert E. Seltzer's cause is highlighted.
How Albert E. Seltzer Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Albert E. Seltzer is highlighted in Oct.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
57 officers from Newark Police Division are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
