(USNewsBreak.com) – One officer who recently pulled over a driver in Queens, New York, lost his life during the stop.
The incident took place on Monday, March 25, as NYPD officer Jonathan Diller and his partner approached an illegally parked car. The passenger, later identified as 34-year-old Guy Rivera, refused to exit the vehicle at Diller’s request and instead allegedly began firing his gun. He hit Diller and then caught a bullet in the back shot by the other officer on the scene. When the suspect dropped the gun, Diller was still alert enough to try to grab the weapon. First responders took the officer to the hospital with a gunshot wound to his torso, where doctors listed him in critical condition. Diller died from his injuries, leaving behind a wife and nearly one-year-old son.
A decorated police officer was shot and killed during a Queens traffic stop as New York City reels from its first slaying of an NYPD cop in two years. https://t.co/T5dxYzj7Ix
— NBC News (@NBCNews) March 26, 2024
Police arrested Rivera and the driver, 41-year-old Lindy Jones. They charged Jones with possession of a defaced (ghost) firearm and criminal possession of a weapon. More than 100 NYPD officers attended his arraignment, packing the courtroom in a display of solidarity. The judge in the case, Maria Gonzalez, agreed with prosecutors that Jones represented a flight risk and ordered him held in jail without bail. Police records showed he had 14 prior arrests and spent 10 years in prison for robbery and attempted murder.
Rivera remained hospitalized, recovering from the gunshot wound to his back. He is facing charges of attempted murder, murder of a police officer, and criminal possession of a weapon. Like Jones, he also has a lengthy rap sheet, with 21 recorded arrests. He’s also served time in jail two separate times. He served almost five years for the criminal sale of a controlled substance and three years for assault.
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