(IntegrityTimes.com) – A routine traffic stop in Queens, New York turned fatal when a career criminal shot and killed a 31-year-old NYPD officer. A report from the New York Post detailed the horrific incident, which occurred just before 6:00 p.m. on March 25 after officer Jonathan Diller approached the stopped vehicle with two male occupants inside. The passenger, identified as 34-year-old Guy Rivera, refused to comply with Diller’s orders to get out of the vehicle. Rivera then shot Diller as he was attempting to remove him from his seat. Diller was hit in the stomach, right below his bulletproof vest.
Diller reportedly continued to try and disarm Rivera after he was shot and successfully knocked the pistol out of his hand. Diller was able to grab the weapon from the ground before Rivera could pick it back up. Diller’s partner shot Rivera in the back, but he is expected to survive.
Diller was rushed to Jamaica Hospital but ultimately succumbed to his injuries. He worked for the NYPD for three years and was married with a one-year-old son. New York City Mayor Eric Adams held a press conference outside the hospital, where he called for the state to take action regarding criminal recidivism. He expressed condolences to Diller’s family and boldly stated, “It is the good guys against the bad guys and these bad guys are violent.”
According to the New York Post, Rivera had been arrested 21 times in the past. He served five years in prison for criminal possession of a controlled substance and was on parole until 2023. He spent three years in prison for first-degree assault and was released in 2014. On March 28, Rivera was charged with murder of a police officer, as well as attempted murder and criminal possession of a weapon. The driver of the vehicle was also a career offender. He was arrested during the shooting and charged with criminal possession of a weapon.
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