On Saturday, family, friends, and a sea of blue uniforms gathered for the funeral of slain NYPD officer Jonathan Diller.
The 31-year-old officer’s funeral mass filled St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church and the surrounding area with mourners.
Stephanie Diller, Diller’s wife, earned a standing ovation as she approached the church platform to say her words. Diller, fighting back tears, expressed gratitude to the public for their outpouring of support following her husband’s death.
“I am so proud that thousands of people across the country are calling Johnathan a hero, but the truth is that he’s always been a hero to Ryan and me,” she went on to say. “The rest of the world is just catching up.”
She also desired change.
“How many more police officers and how many more families have to make the ultimate sacrifice before we start protecting them?” Stephanie questioned. She later concluded her eulogy by adding, “When the gates of heaven open for me, I hope to see Jonathan standing there, looking at me as he did on our wedding day.” Rest in peace, Jonathan Diller, the man who stole my heart and now all of New York’s.
During his speech at the service, New York City Mayor Eric Adams praised Diller as a hero and described the officer’s final moments.
“Even after he had been shot, he fought and took the gun away from the person who would take his life,” Adams said.
The mayor committed to making the city safer by “holding violent career criminals accountable for their crimes and doing everything we can to end gun violence in this city.”
NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban announced Diller’s posthumous promotion to detective, complete with a badge number in honor of his son Ryan.
“His new badge number is 110, his son’s birthday,” Caban said. “What Diller enjoyed the most was being Ryan’s dad.”
Patrick Hendry, president of the Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York, tried to hold back tears as he condemned the two defendants suspected of shooting Diller during a traffic check and praised the NYPD’s “hero.”
The congregation played and chanted “Lift High the Cross” as they carried Diller’s casket out of the church.
A man with 21 prior offenses fatally shot Diller on Monday during a traffic check in Queens, allegedly shooting him in the stomach as Diller tried to get the suspect, Guy Rivera, 34, to exit the vehicle.
Rivera allegedly opened fire on Diller and his partner at 5:45 p.m. The vehicle’s illegal parking near a bus stop prompted the authorities to approach it.
Another man in the car at the time of Diller’s death, Lindy Jones, faced charges of criminal possession of a weapon and defacing a weapon.
Former President Donald Trump attended the wake Thursday afternoon.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan of the Archdiocese of New York also attended the wake, offering his sympathies to the family and the police department.
The following day, New York Governor Kathy Hochul briefly attended his wake before departing after meeting with a man outside the funeral home.
