The young widow of slain heroic police officer Jonathan Diller let crime run rampant in New York City as an estimated 10,000 people gathered on Long Island to honor her husband at his funeral Saturday. vehemently criticized elected officials.
“How many more police officers and how many more families will have to make the ultimate sacrifice before we start protecting them?” Stephanie Diller, 29, said at the Lima Police Department in Massapequa. he tearfully demanded during a shocking memorial inside the Catholic church of St. Rose.
Diller was fatally shot Monday during a traffic stop in Far Rockaway, Queens, by a pair of career criminals with dozens of prior arrests, authorities said.
The widow’s speech included warm memories of her 31-year-old husband and their life together, as their adorable one-year-old son, Ryan, dressed in a small navy blue suit, babbled innocently over his shoulder.
“I am so proud that thousands of people across the country are calling Jonathan a hero,” she said. “But the truth is, he’s always been a hero to Ryan and I. The rest of the world is just catching up.”
The solemn service took place on Holy Saturday, one of the saddest days in the Christian calendar, and included Bible readings centered around St. Michael, the traditional patron saint of police officers.
As the ceremony continued:
- Diller was posthumously promoted to Detective First Class during his funeral and given a new badge number, 110, to coincide with his son’s birthday. “His favorite thing was being Ryan’s father,” NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban explained.
- Father Michael Duffy, who celebrated Dillard’s wedding in 2019, presided over the funeral. “He loved you with every fiber of his being,” he told the grieving widow. “You guys are everything John.”
- Local residents rushed to support law enforcement mourners, offering water bottles, snacks and toilets to visitors from as far away as Toronto and Miami.
- Former President Donald Trump sent a large wreath of red, white and blue flowers to the church in his memory.
- The crowd included former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa, former NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell, Dermot Shea and Bernard Kerik.
Stephanie Diller’s eulogy was announced following provocative statements from Cavern, Mayor Eric Adams, PBA President Patrick Hendry and others.
A tearful Hendry praised Diller as “our hero brother” and condemned the “dangerous and evil” two men who allegedly shot and killed him in Queens on Monday.
An emotional Adams said: “The outpouring of sadness for this young man is real and raw.”
“He ran toward danger…he definitely saved lives,” Adams said, adding, “This is a city of law and order, not disorder.”
But the sadness within the church has also been compounded by Comptroller Brad Lander, who supported defunding the police in 2020, and state Attorney General Letitia James, who has been bashed by critics for saying little in the fight against police. It was consistent with the anger at the existence of left-wing Democratic politicians like the Secretary. Amend the controversial no-cash bail law.
“I actually think it’s disrespectful for them to be here,” said Terry Dunn of Massapequa.
“It’s disgusting,” said Tara Balestria, wife of an NYPD lieutenant.
“They have to go out and deal with criminals on the streets.”
Retired NYPD sergeant Brian Foley stood in uniform outside the funeral, weeping as he urged lawmakers who support bail reform to “walk fast.” They should walk a little and then come and talk to me. ”
Funerals and their solemn pomp are “one of the most beautiful things. When you see so many people coming together for one cause, you could almost hear a pin drop,” Foley said. .
“It’s also the saddest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”
What you need to know about the shooting death of NYPD officer Jonathan Diller:
Follow The Post’s complete coverage of the vigil for fallen NYPD officer Diller
Diller’s alleged killer, Guy Rivera, who allegedly fired the gun during a routine traffic stop on Monday, has been arrested 21 times.
Authorities say Lindy Jones, an ex-con accused of being behind the wheel and arrested after a second gun was found in the car, also had a lengthy rap sheet.
“It’s despicable,” Foley lamented.
“He had been arrested over 20 times and was already a career criminal in possession of a firearm. How many times his driver had been arrested and in possession of a firearm. I can’t believe it.”
Maria Silverman, 50, a Manhattan-based actor who is married to a New York City police lieutenant, said this was the eighth time Dillard’s has attended the funeral of a fallen police officer.
“I’m a lifelong Democrat, but one thing that differs greatly from the party line is support for police,” she said.
“I find it infuriating how police officers are treated, with 50,000 assaults a year, denigrating their active service and sacrifice.”
“We don’t need to be here,” Nassau County Police Chief Patrick Ryder said. “The law needs to change.”
How Post Readers Can Help
You can support Officer Jonathan Diller’s one-year-old son through the Silver Shield Foundation and help fund his future education. Diller, 31, was shot and killed during a traffic stop in Queens, leaving behind his wife, Stephanie, and his baby, Ryan.
The Silver Shield Foundation was established in 1982 by the late New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner to benefit the families of NYPD police officers and New York City Fire Department firefighters who lost their lives in the line of duty.
You can contribute with silvershieldfoundation.org/donate or write to Silver Shield Foundation, 870 UN Plaza, 1st Floor, New York, NY 10017.
Outside the brick church, little Ryan reached out to see his father’s casket draped in the green, white and blue NYPD flag as it departed for the cemetery, and his mother kissed him tenderly on the head. .
Uniformed police officers, firefighters in bunker gear and at least 700 motorcycles from across the country lined up on the road leading to St. Charles Resurrection Cemetery in Farmingdale, where Diller is buried.
