Suspected gunman charged; Wake held for slain NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller
NEW YORK (WABC) -- The suspected gunman has been charged as the heartbroken loved ones of fallen NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller gathered Thursday to say their final goodbyes.
Guy Rivera, 34, was arraigned Thursday with murder of a police officer, attempted murder and criminal possession of a weapon. He remains hospitalized at Jamaica Hospital and is being held without bail.
The other suspect arrested in Diller's death, 41-year-old Lindy Jones, was charged Wednesday with criminal possession of a weapon and possession of a defaced gun. He is also being held without bail.
In a frigid rain as dismal as the mood, Thursday night saw an endless wave of blue flow into the Nassau County funeral home for a pilgrimage that all of them dreaded.
"Every time he would hang up the phone with one of us, every time he would leave at the end of the day, he would tell every single person he loved them," said Sgt. David Pierson.
Pierson was Diller's direct supervisor on the NYPD's vaunted community response team, which now has a new mission: to watch forever over Diller's wife Stephanie and their one-year-old son.
"We need to be strong because if we're not strong, we need to be there for the family," added Sgt. Pierson.
Both former President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor Eric Adams attended Diller's first wake on Thursday afternoon.
Trump shared a sorrowful handshake with NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban as people waited by the masses outside the funeral home to pay their respects.
Not even the pouring rain could compete with the tears shed during the wake. There was NYPD blue everywhere you looked -- from the ribbons, flower arrangements and the massive security presence for Trump.
"Police are the greatest people we have, there's nothing and nobody like them and this should never happen," Trump said. "I just visited with a very beautiful wife who now doesn't have her husband."
Before the wake, Adams spoke with President Joe Biden.
"I received a call from the president a few moments ago sending his condolences and I will relay the condolences to the family, but we are truly impacted by the loss," Adams said.
Diller was on the force for three years and leaves behind a wife and an almost 1-year-old son. He was fatally shot in Queens during what should have been a routine traffic stop.
Thursday's wake is just the beginning of a trying time for Diller's family and his brothers and sisters in blue.
"It's upsetting you know - we go out there to arrest the bad guys and they get out before we're even done with our paperwork," said NYPD Officer Louie Belovin.
Ahead of the wake on Thursday, Gov. Kathy Hochul directed flags on all state buildings to be flown at half-staff for Diller.
"New Yorkers are in mourning over the loss of Officer Jonathan Diller, a heroic young man who dedicated his life to public safety and serving the people," Governor Hochul said. "Our prayers are with his family, his loved ones and his colleagues in the NYPD as they grieve this tragic and senseless loss."
Diller's Massapequa Park community remains stunned and at a loss. In a letter to families, Massapequa Public Schools wrote they would close on Thursday due to multiple road closures and increased traffic related to the wake.
Another wake is scheduled for Friday, and a funeral service Saturday morning, before Diller is laid to rest.
A GoFundMe page for the officer's family has raised more than $500,000 and the Tunnels to Towers Foundation announced it will pay off the mortgage of Diller's home.
ALSO WATCH | The dignified transfer of fallen NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller
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