Donald Trump, the former president, made an appearance at the wake of fallen New York City Police Officer Jonathan Diller, 31, on Thursday afternoon.
Officer Diller’s wake is being held in the windows of 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. on Thursday and Friday.
Diller was shot and killed while performing a traffic stop on Monday. Driver Lindy Jones was parked illegally in front of a bus stop, with Guy Rivera, 34, as his passenger. When Diller ordered them to get out of the vehicle, Rivera refused and opened fire on Diller, according to police. Diller’s partner returned fire, striking Rivera.
Diller later died of his injuries at a nearby hospital. Rivera is expected to recover, and has been charged with first-degree murder. Jones faces charges for second- and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon after police found a handgun in the car he was driving on Monday.
“What happened is such a sad event, such a horrible thing, and it’s happening all too often,” Trump told reporters after leaving the funeral home. “21 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’re not they’re not giving the respect that police are the greatest people, there’s nobody like them.. I just visited with a very beautiful wife that now doesn’t have her husband. Stephanie was just incredible. This brand new, beautiful baby, sitting there, innocent as can be, that doesn’t know how his life has been changed. But the Diller family will never be the same, they can never be the same. And we have to stop it, we have to get back to law and order.”
Trump walked in alongside Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman. Blakeman thanked Trump for his appearance, with the pair calling each other friends.
Rivera does have 21 priors, including a gun charge from April of 2023. Lindy Jones has up to 14 prior arrests. While it’s not clear if Rivera was out on bail when the alleged shooting occurred, Jones was.
Officer Diller’s funeral will be held at St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Massapequa at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday.
