First police officer fatality in a traffic stop in New York in two years

A New York City Police Department officer was killed during a traffic stop in Queens on Monday night, marking the first death of an on-duty NYPD officer in two years.

NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller was shot in the abdomen, below his bulletproof vest, and was transported to a nearby hospital, where he later died, authorities said. The suspect, 34-year-old Guy Rivera, was also shot and taken to the hospital but is expected to survive.

Diller had approached a car that was parked illegally at a bus stop at about 6 p.m. with a fellow NYPD officer. Two men were in the vehicle at the time, but Rivera got out of the car with a gun and shot Diller. The other officer fired back, striking the suspect in the back, according to NBC News.

“There will be plenty of time for anger, grief and for processing pain. But right now, our thoughts are with our fellow officer’s family, his fellow cops, and every member of the New York Police Department,” NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban said. “But most of all, they’re with the officer himself.”

Diller worked for the NYPD for three years, during which he received recognition for “excellent police duty” three times by the department.

“It takes unimaginable courage to protect and serve New York City, knowing there’s a chance you might not make it home to your family at the end of the day,” Queens Borough President Donovan Richards said in a statement. “NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller was the personification of that courage, and his heroism in making the ultimate sacrifice in the name of public safety will never be forgotten. My heart breaks for his family, friends, colleagues and the entire NYPD.”

The other police officer on the scene was not injured in the gunfight but was taken to the hospital for tinnitus. 

NYPD officials claimed Rivera is a career criminal who has 21 prior arrests. Rivera’s previous crimes include first-degree robbery and selling illegal drugs to an undercover police officer. He was released on parole in 2021 but was arrested on a gun charge last year. 

“It was because of a senseless act of violence … a person had a total disregard for the safety of this city,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said at a news conference late Monday. “This dangerous individual inflicted a level of violence that took the life of a police officer, of a husband, a son. This is a loved one that we lost, a young man. My heart goes out to his family. … We lost one of our sons today, and it is extremely painful.”

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The other man in the car, the driver, was not injured and has been taken into police custody. The driver had 14 prior arrests and was also arrested on gun charges in April 2023, according to police officials. 

Diller’s death marks the city’s first police fatality since January 2022, when two NYPD officers were fatally shot after responding to a domestic disturbance call in Harlem, according to the New York Times.