The New York City Police Department on Tuesday mourned an officer shot and killed in a Queens traffic stop, while continuing to investigate an unrelated fatal subway shoving in Manhattan, following a dark night in the city.
The fallen officer was identified by the NYPD and local media reports as Jonathan Diller, a married father of a 1-year-old son.
Tonight this city lost a hero, a wife lost her husband, and a young child lost their father.
— Edward A. Caban (@NYPDPC) March 26, 2024
We struggle to find the words to express the tragedy of losing one of our own. The work that Police Officer Jonathan Diller did each day to make this city a safer place will NEVER be… pic.twitter.com/q639gQGgoz
Diller and his partner stopped a vehicle in Queens' Far Rockaway neighborhood around 5:50 p.m. Monday after spotting it illegally parked at a bus stop, according to police.
After the car's passenger, identified by sources to the New York Post as Guy Rivera, refused officers' orders to step out of the vehicle, Diller and his partner moved to remove him, authorities said.
That's when Rivera, 34, allegedly pulled a gun and shot Diller, 31, in the torso, below his bullet-resistant vest, officials said.
"He was moving, he was saying 'I'm hit, I'm hit!' Giving location and all that," witness Deon Peters told the Post of Diller. "Like he was crying, like he was really crying."
Even after he was shot, Diller continued to grapple with Rivera for the gun, eventually wrestling it away, police said.
Diller's partner, meanwhile, returned fire, hitting Rivera in the back, sources told the Post.
First responders rushed both Rivera and Diller to Jamaica Hospital.
But while Rivera survived his injuries, being described as in stable condition, Diller did not.
"Tonight this city lost a hero, a wife lost her husband, and a young child lost their father," NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban wrote on X. "We struggle to find the words to express the tragedy of losing one of our own. The work that Police Officer Jonathan Diller did each day to make this city a safer place will NEVER be forgotten."
Meanwhile Tuesday, the department continued to investigate the fatal shoving of a man in front of an oncoming subway train in Manhattan.
Suspect Carlton McPherson, 24, was hit with a murder charge after allegedly shoving a 45-year-old man onto the tracks at East Harlem's Lexington Avenue - 125th Street station around 7 p.m. Monday, PIX11 reported, citing authorities.
The victim was struck and killed by a Bronx-bound No. 4 train pulling into the station, authorities said.
His identity had not been released as of early Tuesday.
Authorities reportedly described the attack as unprovoked.
The fatal shove came amid an increased presence of police and the National Guard in the city's subway system spurred by a number of high-profile crimes.
