Queens man sentenced to 115 years in prison for killing cop

Guy Rivera, left, was sentenced to 115 years to life in prison for the death of NYPD officer Johnathan Diller. Pool photo by Dave Sanders

By Ryan Schwach

Despite not being convicted of the top murder charge, the man who shot and killed an NYPD officer in Queens was sentenced to 115 years in prison by a judge on Monday.

Guy Rivera will serve the remainder of his life in prison for the 2024 shooting of NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller in Far Rockaway, as well as for the attempted murder of Diller’s partner and weapons charges.

He will not be eligible for parole until after the 115-year sentence has run out, when he would be 151 years old.

“He will die in a prison cell,” Queens Judge Michael Aloise said standing from behind the bench.

Rivera, a 36-year-old resident of the Ravenswood Houses in Long Island City, was acquitted of first degree murder charges by a jury in April. But he will serve the minimum sentences for the charges he was found guilty of – manslaughter, attempted murder and weapon possession – consecutively, equating to what Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz called “essentially a life sentence.”

Rivera’s attorneys said after the sentencing that they plan to appeal the outcome of the emotional three-week trial, claiming that Rivera was not given a fair shake.

Prosecutors and Aloise considered the conviction to be Rivera's third strike, following previous felony convictions for aggravated assault and criminal possession of a controlled substance.

“Your sentence was determined the second you pulled the trigger,” Aloise said, speaking directly to Rivera.

While making his determination, Aloise criticized the defense’s description of Rivera’s actions as merely a “bad decision.”

“It was a deadly decision,” the judge said, adding that the defense’s characterization of events was evidence of “how low we have sunk morally as a society.”

Diller’s widow, Stephanie Diller, spoke through tears in Queens Criminal Court, reflecting on her husband of 12 years, and rebuking Rivera, who remained sullen for the duration of Monday’s proceedings, directly.

“You took the future we planned together, the life we were building,” she said. “In a single moment, everything that was my life was gone.”

Stephanie Diller said her husband’s death gave her and her family a “life sentence,” and called for the judge’s decision to reflect that.

After speaking, she left the courtroom and did not return to hear what sentence befell the man convicted of killing her husband.

Following the sentencing, both Katz and Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry applauded Aloise’s ruling.

“Jonathan Dillar woke up in the morning and made several choices for his life. He chose to be there with his wife and his son, he chose to come in uniform and he chose to go out and make sure that there were no guns on the street that he could prevent,” said Katz. “Guy Rivera woke up and made very different choices. Those choices ended up with a police officer who was killed and another police officer who almost was killed…These are all choices that were made.”

The union boss, who was highly critical of Rivera’s acquittal on the murder charge, was satisfied with Monday’s outcome.

“This sentence sent the right message,” he said. “Let's make no mistake about it, despite what the defense said, this is a murderer. He decided to carry a loaded firearm on the streets of Rockaway, Queens. He pointed that gun at two New York City police officers in full uniform, and squeezed the trigger.”

“He should never, ever walk the streets again, and he won't,” he added.

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who was also critical of the jury’s verdict, said the sentence was the “right result.”

“May Detective First Grade Jonathan Diller’s memory continue to be a blessing to Stephanie and Ryan, and Jonathan’s brothers and sisters in blue at the New York City Police Department,” she said on social media.

Rivera was cleared from the top charge of murder in the first degree because the prosecution could not prove that Rivera meant to fire the fatal shot.

Regardless, Rivera’s counsel from the Legal Aid Society called the sentence “sensational,” and announced their intention to appeal.

“He did not receive a fair trial,” they said.

In a statement, Jamal Johnson, the attorney-in-charge of the Homicide Defense Task Force at the Legal Aid Society, said the integrity of the jury’s verdict was compromised.

"The court’s rulings, which prevented the jury from considering important evidence and lesser-included charges supported by the record — including reckless manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide — impaired the integrity of the jury’s verdict,” he said. “Just as important, the fact that the court stated it had already made up its mind about sentencing well before the trial was conducted reveals the bias and uphill battle the defense faced throughout this case. Accordingly, we intend to appeal this decision."

Diller was a member of the NYPD’s Community Response Team, and was assigned to the 101st Precinct in Far Rockaway for patrol the day of the shooting.

Around 5:43 p.m., Diller and four other police officers stopped a man getting off a bus on Mott Avenue, believing he had a gun. It was a false alarm.

But at that same time, Diller’s partner saw Rivera and his friend, Lindy Jones, walk out of a nearby store and get into a parked car. Sergeant Sasha Rosen, Diller’s partner, reported that he noticed an “L-shaped” object in Rivera’s coat pocket, then turned to Diller.

Diller, Rosen and a third officer approached the car Rivera and Jones were in. On body camera and surveillance footage played in court, Diller and Rosen were seen standing outside the passenger side door of the vehicle where Rivera was sitting. Diller tapped on the window multiple times.

Both Rivera and Jones were slow to respond to the officers’ questions and orders. Eventually, one officer reached inside the open window of the driver side door and unlocked the car.

In videos played in court, Diller and Rosen were both seen leaning over Rivera getting ready to grab him when a gunshot is heard and Diller was struck. Diller fell to the ground immediately, shouting out, “I’m shot, I’m shot, I’m shot,” repeatedly. Rosen and other officers tackled Rivera to the ground and kicked the gun away as they arrested the defendant.

Rivera was shot twice during the encounter, once in his left arm pit and once in his right arm.

Jones remained in the driver seat with his hands up until another officer arrested him.

Diller was rushed by his colleagues to Jamaica Hospital, the closest trauma center, where he was pronounced dead.