By Steve Neavling
A DEA agent who was killed in a shootout with drug dealers in 1988 was recently honored in a bench dedication ceremony in Minnesota.
Paul S. Seema’s name graces a black granite bench outside a library in New Prague.
Seema’s wife Joy and their two sons Jayson and Santi attended the ceremony at the Knights of Columbus hall.
“We want the families of our fallen agents to know that they’re not forgotten,” retired Special Agent David Jacobson of the DEA Survivors Benefits Fund said at the ceremony. “We started this process of getting the bench placed in New Prague in recognition of Paul about a year ago. This is a landmark that will not only remind the Seema’s and New Prague community of Paul’s work with DEA, but will also provide a constant reminder that there are a lot of Americans who continue to hold Paul’s family close to heart.”
Seema was among three undercover agents who were shot while negotiating with a Taiwanese criminal group to buy heroin for $80,000. While meeting a trafficker in a quiet Pasadena neighborhood to pick up two pounds of heroin, multiple traffickers planned to rob and kill them in an ambush for the money.
Special Agent George Montoya also was killed, and another agent was wounded.
Seema died the following day.
Seema’s family moved to Minnesota shortly after he was killed.
The DEA Survivor Benefits Fund was created in 1997 to provide financial and educational assistance to the families of DEA agents and task force officers killed in the line of duty.
