NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller was shot Monday night while conducting a routine traffic stop in Queens.
Both the suspected shooter and his associate are career criminals. One of the thugs had at least 21 prior arrests and was reportedly released in 2021. The other was last arrested on gun charges in April 2023, but was released.
“April 2023” Mayor Eric Adams
repeated at a press conference Monday night. “He’s back on the streets less than a year later on gun charges. This is not a criminal issue, this is a so-called issue.” recidivism problem. The same bad people are doing bad things to good people. Less than a year later, he was back in town with another gun. ”
Officer Diller, 31, and his partner pulled over Lindy Jones, 41, and Guy Rivera, 34, near 19-19 Mott Avenue in Far Rockaway, Queens, on Monday around 5:50 p.m. Ta.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenney said officers asked Rivera to get out of a gray Kia SUV parked in front of a bus stop.
“He was given multiple lawful commands to exit the vehicle, but he refused,” Kenney said.
Police indicated that as Diller approached the car, Rivera, who was sitting in the passenger seat, brandished a firearm and took aim. The suspect fired, hitting Mr. Diller in the gut under his bulletproof vest.
Despite taking the lead, Kenney suggested that Diller “stayed in the fight and was trying to disarm the guy who had just shot him.”
“The gun fell to the ground, but the gunman still had his hand on the gun, so the officer was able to grab the gun even though he was still being shot,” Kenney added.
During the fight, Diller’s partner reportedly returned fire and was able to shoot Rivera in the back.
Witness Melissa Morgan witnessed the gunfight less than two blocks from the NYPD’s 101st Precinct building.
Said New York Daily News: “It happened so fast”
“The officer fell to the floor and other officers pulled him out of the car. I was running to protect myself,” Morgan continued. “can’t believe it.”
“We need a bus ASAP!” a police officer reportedly yelled into his radio. “A police officer has been shot!”
NYPD shut down the Van Wyck Expressway and transported Diller to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where he later died from his injuries.
Diller was on the force for three years.new york times
report Diller has been recognized three times for “outstanding police service,” he said.
Police Commissioner Edward Cavan
said“Tonight, this city lost a hero, a wife lost a husband, and a young child lost a father.”
“We are struggling to find the words to express the tragedy of losing one of our own,” Caban continued. “Officer Jonathan Diller will never be forgotten for the work he does every day to make this city a safer place.”
Rivera, on the other hand, is expected to survive.
Rivera, who has 21 prior arrests, was released from a New York prison in 2021 after serving five years for possession of a controlled substance. report New York Post. Rivera’s parole ends in 2023. He previously served time in prison from 2011 to 2014 for first-degree assault.
Jones was arrested last April, but was soon on the run again in New York City. Jones has been arrested 14 times, and in 2003 he was reportedly convicted of attempted murder and robbery.
The murder weapon was recovered from the scene, and nearby roads were closed while police investigated.
adams
called He called the shooting a “senseless act of violence” and said the gunman had “a complete disregard for the safety of this city.”
Adams emphasized that this case made the moral dichotomy very clear. “It’s good guys versus bad guys. And the bad guys are violent, they carry guns, and the police uniforms that represent our public safety are their uniforms. It’s a total disregard.”
“These attacks on New York City police officers must stop now,” said Patrick Hendry, president of the city’s Police Benevolent Association. “I have a family upstairs right now, and they’re devastated. There’s a police officer in this hallway who lost a brother. It has to end now.”
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