NEW YORK (AP) — A jury will soon decide the fate of a man charged in the 2024 shooting death of New York City police officer, considering a case that briefly became a focal point during President Donald Trump’s campaign to reclaim the White House.
The fatal shooting of Jonathan Diller was cast at the time as an issue of “law and order” by the then-Republican candidate, who attended the officer's wake and continued to cast the Democrat-led city as a hotbed
of crime throughout his run.
Among the key questions jurors will weigh is whether defendant Guy Rivera intended to shoot Diller during the March 25, 2024, traffic stop in Queens, with the prosecution and defense arguing both sides during closings on Tuesday.
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, 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 jury is expected to begin deliberating Wednesday in the trial, which has lasted about three weeks.
Rivera could be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted of first-degree murder. The 36-year-old also faces other charges, including attempted murder.
The shooting happened while Diller and other officers were on patrol in the Far Rockaway section of Queens. Authorities say 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.
Police say 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, including Trump.
After visiting the funeral home with Diller's family, Trump called his death “such a sad, sad event, such a horrible thing.”
“The police are the greatest people we have. There’s nothing and there’s nobody like them. And this should never happen,” Trump said.
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Follow Philip Marcelo at https://x.com/philmarcelo
