Man charged with murder in fatal shooting of police officer Jonathan Diller

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A man was charged with first-degree murder Thursday in the fatal shooting of police officer Jonathan Diller, the Queens district attorney announced.

The man, Guy Rivera, 34, was also charged with attempted murder for pointing his gun at another police officer, Sasha Rosen, who pushed him away before Mr. Rivera opened fire, according to a statement from Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz. Had pushed. , Ms. Katz said that if convicted, Mr. Rivera faced life in prison without parole.

It was not clear whether Mr. Rivera had a lawyer.

The police said Mr. Rivera was in the passenger seat of a parked vehicle in Far Rockaway, Queens, on Monday evening when Officer Diller repeatedly instructed him to get out of the car, but he refused. Officer Diller yelled at Mr. Rivera to take his hands out of his pockets, police said.

According to Ms. Katz’s statement, Mr. Rivera pulled out a gun and shot Officer Diller through the car window, hitting him in the torso just below his protective jacket. Officer Diller’s partner, Officer Vakesh Khedna, shot Mr. Rivera in the back.

Officer Diller later died at Jamaica Hospital.

Mr. Rivera was taken to the same hospital, where he is still being treated. On Wednesday, the man in the driver’s seat of the car, 41-year-old Lindy Jones, was charged with multiple gun crimes related to the shooting.

Both men had lengthy criminal histories. Mr. Jones was arrested on gun charges last year and spent time in prison for first-degree robbery and attempted murder, according to police and state Corrections Department records. Police said Mr. Rivera had at least 21 previous arrests.

“These are bad people doing bad things to good people,” Mayor Eric Adams said at a news conference Tuesday. “It’s a showdown of good guys against bad guys. And we have to recognize that.”

The charges against Mr. Rivera were announced the day after Officer Diller’s vigil on Long Island. Hundreds of his family members and fellow police officers, Mayor Adams and former President Donald J. Trump also attended this meeting.

“Arrested twenty-one times,” Mr. Trump said outside the wake. “They don’t learn because they don’t respect.”