On Friday afternoon, during the second day of the wake held for fallen NYPD officer Jonathan Diller, New York’s Governor was asked to leave. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) arrived at the viewing ceremony at Massapequa Funeral Home on Long Island around 1:45 p.m.
According to law enforcement sources, she was only in attendance for about 10 minutes before she was asked to leave. An individual was heard saying, “Get her outta here,” from inside the crowded funeral home.
On her way to her car, the governor appeared to be confronted by a man in a black suit, who gestured while speaking intensely. Several law enforcement officers waiting outside the funeral home clapped as he walked away.
Video of the interaction appeared on social media.
Diller, a 31-year-old husband and father, was fatally shot during a routine traffic stop in Far Rockaway, Queens, on Monday. Guy Rivera fired at Diller when he approached the vehicle, parked in front of a bus stop. Despite wearing a bulletproof vest, Diller was struck in the stomach and succumbed to his injuries at Jamaica Hospital.
Rivera, who has 21 prior arrests, was also injured during the incident as Officer Diller’s partner returned gunfire. Rivera was discovered to have a shiv stored in his rectum during the shooting incident, in apparent anticipation of being sent back to jail. The vehicle’s driver, Lindy Jones, was arrested after a second gun was discovered in the vehicle.
Hochul and New York’s lawmakers faced criticism over bail reform policies following Diller’s death due to revelations about one of the suspects involved in the shooting walking free on a gun charge last year. New York City Mayor Eric Adams has called for action on criminal recidivism in light of the fatal tragedy.
Vincent J. Vallelong, president of the Sergeants Benevolent Association, penned a strong letter urging City Council members to refrain from attending services, stating that their presence would dishonor the fallen officer’s legacy.
Vallelong wrote, “Their presence is more than a distraction. It is a stain on the legacy of a true hero who made the ultimate sacrifice.”
Vallelong added that the City Council members are “morally responsible” for the officer’s killing, writing, “They are as morally responsible for PO Diller’s death as the career criminal who pulled the trigger.”
On Thursday, former President Donald Trump attended the wake for Officer Diller, making remarks about the necessity of returning to ‘”law and order.”
Trump said:
Twenty-one times arrested, this thug, and the person in the car with him was arrested many times. And they don’t learn because they don’t respect — they don’t, they’re not giving the respect — the police are the greatest people we have, and there’s nothing, there’s nobody like them. And this should never happen.
I just visited with a very beautiful wife that now doesn’t have her husband. Stephanie was just incredible. Their child, brand new, beautiful baby, sitting there innocent as can be, and doesn’t know how his life has been changed. But the Diller family will — you’ll never be the same, you can never be the same. And we have to stop it. We have to stop it. We have to get back to law and order.
President Joe Biden did not attend services for Officer Diller, instead opting for a ritzy fundraiser alongside former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
