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Just hours after a 34-year-old Queens man with a lengthy rap sheet was charged in the slaying of NYPD police officer Jonathan Diller, memorial services got underway for the fallen officer and his surviving relatives in Massapequa.
And just minutes into the services, former President Donald Trump arrived to pay his respects and huddle with the grieving family inside the South Chapel at Massapequa Funeral Home.
Trump spent about 30 to 40 minutes with the family, afterward making brief statements to media members assembled under a tent outside on a dreary, rainy day on Long Island.
“The Diller family will never be the same,” Trump said. “We have to get back to law and order. We have to do a lot of things differently. This is not working. This is happening too often.”
Trump was beating a drum that he’s been beating throughout his presidential campaign, speaking often about policies blamed for keeping criminals on the streets.
New York Mayor Eric Adams expressed similar sentiments at a press conference Monday night, just minutes after Diller was pronounced dead at Jamaica Hospital.
The mayor called the circumstances surrounding the fatal shooting “not a crime problem, but a recidivist problem,” as the suspected killer had multiple prior arrests, including a recent gun arrest, Adams said, and was “back on the streets.”
Former President Trump at the wake of NYPD officer Jonathan Diller: “We have to get back to law and order….This is not working.” pic.twitter.com/qX7mKCXzeM
— Greater Long Island 📰 (@Greater_LI) March 28, 2024
Diller, a 31-year-old Long Islander and three-year NYPD veteran, was shot and killed while conducting a traffic stop in Far Rockaway Monday evening. The fatal shot entered Diller’s torso, beneath his vest, police said. He later died at Jamaica Hospital.
Guy Rivera, 34, was charged Monday morning in his murder.
Services
Remembrances for Diller are scheduled for both Thursday and Friday at the South Chapel of the Massapequa Funeral Home, located at 4980 Merrick Rd. Visitation hours are from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. on both days.
The funeral proceedings will be held on Saturday at St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Massapequa, with interment following at St. Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale, according to Newsday.
Scroll down for more photos from Thursday by Andrew Theodorakis.
