Trump to attend for slain NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller
NEW YORK — Former President Trump plans to attend the wake for NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller, the hero cop who was gunned down Monday in Far Rockaway, police said Wednesday.
Trump has told NYPD officials that he will attend the emotional tribute to Diller that is planned for the Massapequa Funeral Home on Long Island Thursday evening.
The 2024 Republican presidential candidate posted a tribute to Diller Tuesday on his social media site.
“To Officer Diller’s family, and all of the other brave men and women of law enforcement who put your lives on the line every day, we love you, we appreciate you, and we will always stand with you!” Trump wrote.
Trump, who frequently bemoans crime in big cities that are led by Democrats, said Guy Rivera, one of the two ex-cons charged in Diller’s killing, should never have been freleased from prison on parole.
“The ‘thug’ in question has 21 prior arrests and just recently got out of prison – he NEVER should have been let back out on the streets,” Trump wrote.
Mayor Adams is also expected to attend the wake for Diller, along with cops from the NYPD and other law enforcement agencies. It’s not clear if Adams and Trump might meet at the wake.
Trump correctly cited Rivera’s rap sheet. He has been arrested by the NYPD 21 times, including nine felonies, police sources said.
But Rivera had avoided arrest since being freed from prison three years ago until the shootout that killed Diller.
The second accused killer, Lindy Jones, had served more than nine years in prison on attempted murder and robbery charges, records show.
He was paroled in 2013 and had avoided arrest since then.
The two career criminals were sitting in an illegally parked Kia when Diller and his partner approached the vehicle to investigate.
