The man charged in the 2024 shooting death of a NYPD officer during a Queens traffic stop was found not guilty of the top murder charge, but was convicted on three lesser charges including aggravated manslaughter and attempted murder, according to prosecutors.
At the end of the first day of deliberations, the jury acquitted Guy Rivera of first-degree murder in the death of Officer Jonathan Diller, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. But Rivera, from Long Island City, was found guilty of the lesser charges he faced.
The jury deliberated for about eight hours before reaching the split verdict Wednesday, convicting the 36-year-old of first-degree attempted murder, aggravated manslaughter and two counts of second-degree weapon possession, the DA’s office said.
Among the key questions jurors were asked to weigh following the three-week trial were whether the defendant intended to shoot Diller during the March 25, 2024, traffic stop in Far Rockaway, with the prosecution and defense arguing both sides during closings on Tuesday.
“The last words Detective Jonathan Diller told his wife were ‘I love you.’ Detective Diller was a father, a husband and a son…Guy Rivera chose to ignore these facts, chose to ignore multiple lawful commands and chose to shoot Detective Diller,” said DA Katz. “This crime stole the life of a dutiful officer and a family man.”
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch posted on social media to say she was “deeply disappointed” Rivera was not convicted of murder, but “grateful” for the conviction on the others. She also praised Diller’s actions, saying he “gave his life so that others could be safe, displaying a level of courage most could never imagine.”
Sentencing was scheduled for April 27, when Rivera faces 90 years to life in prison.
The case became a focal point during President Donald Trump’s campaign to reclaim the White House, cast at the time as an issue of “law and order” by the then-Republican candidate. Then-candidate Trump attended the officer’s wake and continued to cast the Democrat-led city as a hotbed of crime throughout his run.
In his closing arguments, Prosecutor John Kosinski said video evidence and testimony from officers showed Rivera pulled out a concealed handgun and intentionally shot Diller.
Instead of taking retribution and returning fire, the wounded Diller assisted others in disarming Rivera to make sure no one else got hurt, he said.
“Diller chose life. The defendant chose differently,” Kosinski said as he held up the bullet taken from the body of Diller, who was promoted to detective posthumously.
Rivera’s lawyer, Jamal Johnson, had argued that prosecutors failed to prove that the shooting was intentional, which is a key requirement to secure a first-degree murder conviction. Instead, he argued that the gun accidentally discharged as another officer struggled with Rivera.
“This is not intentional. This is not targeted,” Johnson said.
Trial testimony from officers on the scene that day also contradicted their own body camera footage, he argued.
Speaking before a courtroom packed with uniformed officers and Diller’s family, Johnson urged jurors to “question everything” in the police narrative and suggested that the officers who testified had a “motive to lie.”
“They want you to disbelieve what the bodycam shows,” he said.
Kosinski brushed aside that notion, saying, “William Shakespeare couldn’t come up with the words to show the defendant didn’t fire that gun.”
He said the evidence showed that Rivera intended to use the gun that day because he loaded the clip, chambered a round and switched off the safety before he stuffed it in his pocket.
“We don’t tell a story to fit the facts. The facts tell the story,” Kosinski said. “He pulled the trigger. It was in his hands. That’s what happened here.”
The man who was driving the car connected to the murder of NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller was back in court Monday with a new attorney. A sea of officers stood by as Lindy Jones appeared in court, as police allege a loaded .9-mm pistol was found in his glove box after Diller was shot. NBC New York’s Jessica Cunnington reports.
Authorities had said one of the officers spotted a suspicious object bulging from Rivera’s hoodie as he and another man walked to a parked car and got in. According to police, the officers were questioning the driver when Rivera, who was in the passenger’s seat, suddenly pulled out a gun and shot Diller.
The bullet struck the officer below his bulletproof vest, mortally wounding him. Another officer then shot and wounded Rivera.
At the time, Diller was the first NYPD officer to be killed in the line of duty in two years. Memorial services for the 31-year-old in his hometown on Long Island drew thousands of visitors.
Officer Jonathan Diller was with another officer in the Far Rockaway neighborhood near Mott Avenue and Beach 19th Street before 6 p.m. when they approached a vehicle for being parked illegally at a bus stop. Diller was shot and later died. NBC New York’s Jessica Cunnington and Checkey Beckford have team coverage.
