Jonathan Diller shooting: NYPD sergeants’ union tells anti-police Democrats to stay away from funeral
The NYPD’s Sergeants Benevolent Association (SBA) sent a damning letter calling out far-left Democratic leaders in New York City for their anti-police and soft-on-crime policies and telling them to stay away from the funeral of slain Officer Jonathan Diller.
The 31-year-old father died Monday after a violent ex-con with 21 prior arrests allegedly shot him in the stomach when police approached the car where the suspect was sitting in the passenger seat.
“I’m sure that many elected officials will attend PO Diller’s funeral, shed a few crocodile tears, and prominently seat themselves for a good photo opportunity,” SBA President Vincent Vallelong wrote in a letter to union members. “The sad reality is we don’t want them there.”
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NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller is survived by his wife and their nearly 1-year-old son. (NYPD)
Law enforcement sources told Fox News Digital that a number of NYPD officers who were planning to attend Diller’s memorial services have been called into work for President Biden’s security detail for a fundraiser at Radio City Music Hall with former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.
Former President Trump, on the other hand, did attend Diller’s wake Thursday afternoon, calling for an end to soft-on-crime policies afterward.
“The Diller family will never be the same – you can never be the same,” Trump said outside the funeral home. “And we have to stop it. We have to get back to law and order.”
“They are as morally responsible for PO Diller’s death as the career criminal who pulled the trigger.”
Vallelong said he found it infuriating to see city politicians who have supported movements to “defund” police and let criminals out of jail posting politically motivated condolences on social media.
“Their presence is more than a distraction,” Vallelong continued. “It is a stain on the legacy of a true hero who made the ultimate sacrifice, as well as the scores of dedicated and committed public servants who will carry on his mission despite their constant criticism, cynicism, negativity, and frivolous accusations.”
NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller, 31, was the father of a 1-year-old boy. A violent ex-con has been accused of fatally shooting him during a stop earlier this week. (Tunnel to Towers Foundation)
In an interview with the New York Post, the union leader took it a step further and called out City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams by name.
“They detest cops and have no appreciation for what they do,” he told the paper. “They should stay home and not pretend they are grieving.”
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When Williams wrote on X about Diller’s death earlier this week, many of the replies contained harsh criticism.
“I like how this post doesn’t address the need to get criminals off our streets,” one user replied.
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams speaks during a rally before a City Council oversight hearing at City Hall in New York City on March 1. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Williams, a former City Council member who was elected the city’s public advocate in 2019, has previously described himself as a democratic socialist and in 2020 argued that $1 billion in NYPD budget cuts wouldn’t go far enough to “defund” the police.
Adams in January helped override a veto from Mayor Eric Adams, no relation, for a bill that requires police officers to perform increased paperwork after encounters with the public.
City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams speaks during a demonstration in front of City Hall on Jan. 30. (Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“Despite their admonitions to the contrary, the ‘leadership’ in the Council has failed city residents, workers, and visitors at every turn,” Vallelong wrote. “They are blinded by their own hatred and twisted ideology.”
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A police officer holds a lit candle as people attend a candlelight vigil for NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller, who was shot and killed while making a routine traffic stop on Monday in the Far Rockaway section of Queens, at Brady Park in Massapequa, New York, on Wednesday. (Reuters/Shannon Stapleton)
Without naming names, Vallelong’s letter also accused “many prosecutors” of being also to blame for “this utter destruction of civilized society in New York.”
“They would rather see the city burn and countless lives lost rather than correct their legislative mistakes and at least give the city a chance at survival or a resurgence,” he wrote.
NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller is seen smiling with colleagues in a selfie shared by the 105th Precinct in Queens. (NYPD)
Guy Rivera, a 34-year-old man with 21 prior arrests, nine of them for felonies, allegedly shot and killed Diller during a stop in Far Rockaway on Monday evening.
Other officers returned fire and Rivera was still in police custody at the hospital Thursday morning, according to Queens prosecutors.
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Guy Rivera, an ex-con suspected of fatally shooting NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller, appears in a mugshot. (NYPD)
A friend in the same vehicle, Lindy Jones, 41, was convicted of attempted murder in 2002, served time in prison and was somehow out on the streets despite a pending felony firearms case from last year, according to the Queens District Attorney’s Office.
Lindy Jones is pictured in police custody leaving the 101st Precinct in Manhattan, New York, on Wednesday. (Barry Williams for NY Daily News via Getty Images)
He racked up more weapons charges when police allegedly found a handgun with the serial number filed off in his glove box.
Ex-con Lindy Jones appears in a Queens courtroom following the shooting death of NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller. A passenger in Jones’ car, Guy Rivera, is accused of opening fire on the policeman during a traffic stop. (Obtained by Fox News Digital)
“The Council members who are vehemently and inexplicably against public safety are responsible for the carnage in the streets and the heartbreak brought about by PO Diller’s completely avoidable death,” Vallelong wrote.
“Those in the Council who have declared war on the police should be the ones put under a microscope and investigated by an outside agency for every legislative mistake and misstep they make.”
A New York City Police Department ambulance carrying the remains of Officer Jonathan Diller leaves Jamaica Hospital Medical Center on Monday. (AP Photo/Jeenah Moon)
It comes weeks after the state’s Democrat Attorney General Letitia James faced jeers and boos when she appeared at a promotion ceremony for members of the FDNY.
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Firefighters salute as the ambulance transporting the body of Officer Jonathan Diller exits Jamaica Hospital Medical Center in the Queens borough of New York on Monday. (AP Photo/Jeenah Moon)
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The interruption came shortly after James successfully sued former President Trump in an effort to crack down on his New York businesses. Firefighters chanted, “Trump! Trump! Trump!”
Diller will be laid to rest Saturday in Massapequa. His wake services begin Thursday afternoon.
