A young police officer was shot dead during a routine traffic stop in New York tonight by a career criminal with 21 previous arrests.
Officer Jonathan Diller, 31, was just three years into his job when he was shot while asking a driver why he had parked at a bus stop.
His killer had been jailed repeatedly for drug and violent crimes and was only arrested on firearms charges in April last year.
Officer Diller leaves behind a young widow, Stephanie, and a one-year-old son at his Long Island home, and New York Mayor Eric Adams paid tribute to the couple as he announced the news last night.
‘Can I say it more clearly? It’s the good guys against the bad guys,” he said at a news conference.
Officer Jonathan Diller, 31, of New York’s 105th precinct had only been on the job for three years
Neighbors heard shots ring out at 5:50 p.m., less than two blocks from the NYPD’s 101st Precinct station, before seeing the fatally wounded officer lying in the street
“Can I say it more clearly?” New York Mayor Eric Adams said at a press conference: ‘It’s the good guys versus the bad guys’
The suspect was named by the New York Post as 34-year-old Guy Rivera.
‘The same bad people, doing bad things to good people. Less than a year later, he’s back on the streets with a different gun,” Adams said.
Diller and a colleague worked in Far Rockaway as part of the NYPD Critical Response Team that focused on auto crime.
When they asked the 34-year-old suspect to get out of the car, he refused, pointed a gun at the officers and fired, hitting Diller in the torso, just below his bulletproof vest.
Rivera “was asked to exit the car, he was given a lawful order to get out of the car multiple times, but he refused,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said.
“And when the officer got him out of the car, he shot our officer instead of getting out of the car.”
Witnesses heard shots ring out less than two blocks from the NYPD’s 101st Precinct station at 5:50 p.m.
“It happened so quickly,” Melissa Morgan, 39, told the newspaper Daily news.
‘The police officer fell to the ground and the other officers dragged the two boys out of the car. I took cover.
“He shot a cop, it’s unbelievable.”
“He was rolling on the ground saying, ‘I’ve been shot, I’ve been shot,'” another witness said.
Witness Deon Peters said he saw two people, including the officer, lying on the ground.
“He moved, he said, ‘I’m hit, I’m hit!’ Provide location and such,” Peters told the channel NYPost“Like he was crying.”
Kenny said that even after being shot, Diller managed to take the gun from his killer, while the other officer fired back, hitting the shooter in the back.
The radio intercepts recorded colleagues who, moments later, frantically call for an ambulance.
“We need a bus here ASAP!” someone shouted, “We shot an officer!”
The gunman was sitting in a passenger seat when he shot at the officer through the window.
The gun recovered from the scene of the police officer’s shooting
Diller and a colleague worked in Far Rockaway as part of the NYPD Critical Response Team that focused on auto crime.
He was shot in the back when police returned fire before both wounded men were taken to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center in Queens, where only the shooter was expected to survive.
The 41-year-old driver of the car, named by sources as Lindy Jones, was arrested and a firearm was recovered at the scene.
“The in-line murder of NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller is a tragedy for the NYPD and every New Yorker he so bravely protected,” former Police Commissioner Bill Bratton tweeted.
“He was a guardian of our city and now a guardian at the gates of heaven. His legacy will forever be one of courageous, selfless service and ultimate sacrifice.”