Queens man acquitted of murder of police officer, convicted of manslaughter
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Guy Rivera, left, was found not guilty of first degree murder, but was found guilty of aggravated manslaughter for the death of NYPD officer Johnathan Diller. Pool photo taken by Dave Sanders
By Noah Powelson
After eight tense hours of jury deliberations, Guy Rivera was found not guilty for the murder of NYPD officer Johnathan Diller, but guilty for several lesser charges that will still likely put him behind bars for the rest of his life.
A jury on Wednesday found that Rivera, 36, did not commit first degree murder in the death of an NYPD police officer in a 2024 shooting in Far Rockaway. He was found guilty of first-degree aggravated manslaughter, as well as for the first-degree attempted murder of Diller’s partner. Rivera was also found guilty of several illegal possession of a firearm charges. He now faces a maximum of 90 years to life in prison.
It was a long, emotional day that ended a three-week trial that included police testimony and disputes over what body-worn camera footage of the killing showed. Courtrooms in Queens Criminal Court were packed with police officers and Diller’s family and friends throughout the highly-publicized trial, requiring multiple overflow rooms to accommodate the large audience.
Rivera’s family was also in attendance.
Closing arguments in the case were presented on March 31 and the jury broke for deliberation in the late morning of April 1.
Though it appeared the jury was prepared to deliver a verdict to the anxious crowd around 5:10 p.m., as the clerk polled the jury to confirm the verdict they rendered was their own, one juror unexpectedly said, “No.”
Silence and shock filled the courtroom when the juror responded. After a quick discussion between the judge, the prosecutors and defense attorneys, the jury was told to return to their deliberations.
The jury returned around 7 pm, this time unanimously rendering a not guilty verdict to Rivera’s first-degree murder charge. Audible groans of disappointment were heard in the crowd as the verdict was read. Police officers held their heads in their hands and Diller’s widow, Stephanie Diller, wept in the courtroom pews.
Though Rivera could still very likely spend the rest of his life behind bars for Diller’s death, the faces of Diller’s family and other police officers were solemn as they silently exited the courthouse.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz thanked her prosecutors, the police officers present and the jury, and said she was proud of the verdict despite not getting the top charge.
“When Rivera encountered Detective Diller, Sergeant Rosen and their team, he made the decision to fight,” Katz said. “We present the evidence; the jury decides the verdict. I stand here today proud of that verdict. Guy Rivera will face a maximum of 90 years to life as a sentence for all the crimes he was convicted of today.”
Patrick Hendry, the president of the New York City Police Benevolent Association, said that while the verdict offered some solace, he disagreed with the jury’s decision to acquit Rivera of first-degree murder.
“This was murder one of a New York City police officer, no doubt about it,” Hendry said after the verdict was announced. “This decision gives Johnathan and his family some justice, but it doesn’t give them full closure. The pain will never go away.”
Hendry’s words were echoed by New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who reacted to the verdict on social media.
“While I am deeply disappointed that Jonathan’s killer was not convicted of the top murder charge, I am grateful that he has been convicted on all other counts,” Tisch said. “My hope is that the ultimate sentence in this case will reflect the gravity of his actions, and the profound loss he caused for Stephanie, Ryan, the Diller family, the NYPD, and the entire City of New York.”
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani also expressed his sympathy toward Diller’s family during an unrelated announcement on Thursday.
“The heinous killing of detective Diller also weighs heavily today,” Mamdani said. “His loss still feels unfathomable. I’m grateful for his service, and my heart is with his loved ones as we gather together to share the immense progress we have achieved over the past three months in our city.”
NYPD officer Jonathan Diller. Diller Photo via NYPD News
Rivera was charged with first-degree murder for allegedly shooting and killing Diller during a traffic stop in Far Rockaway on March 25, 2024. He was also charged with the attempted murder of Diller’s partner, Sergeant Sasha Rosen, in the same encounter.
Diller was a member of the NYPD’s Community Response Team, and was assigned to the 101st Precinct in Far Rockaway for patrol that day.
Around 5:43 pm, 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, Rosen, saw Rivera and his friend, Lindy Jones, walk out of a nearby store and get into a parked car. Rosen reported that he noticed a “L-shaped” object in Rivera’s coat pocket, then turned to Diller.
“Did you see that?” Rosen was heard telling Diller on footage played in court.
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, telling Rivera to lower the window.
Both Rivera and Jones were slow to respond to officers’ questions and orders. Eventually, one officer reached inside the open window of the driver side door and unlocked the car. Diller and the other officers repeatedly told Rivera and Jones to get out of the car.
In videos played in court, Diller and Rosen are both seen leaning over Rivera getting ready to grab him when a gunshot is heard and Diller is 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.
Jones remained in the driver seat with his hands up until another officer arrested him.
Rivera was shot twice during the encounter, once in his left arm pit and another in his right arm.
Camera footage did not show a clear image of Rivera pointing and shooting the gun at Diller. The actual gun was obscured throughout the chaotic videos either by other officers, clothes, the car itself or poor video quality.
Prosecutors argued during trial that Rivera, who possessed an illegal firearm and had multiple prior arrests, opened fire at the NYPD officers in a desperate attempt to escape. Prosecutors said he would have likely shot other arresting officers if his gun hadn’t jammed at that moment.
Rivera’s attorneys maintained the shooting was an accident, and that no evidence was ever presented during trial to suggest he had any intention of committing murder that day.
Attorneys on both sides played the videos repeatedly, highlighting specific sections in attempts to prove their narrative of events.
While the shooting itself lasted less than 10 seconds, the jury spent hours reviewing the footage from multiple angles.
Video of Diller’s own body camera was played throughout, including some of his final moments as he is put in a car and driven to a local hospital.
Rosen and Stephanie Diller, also testified during the trial.
Rivera is scheduled to appear in court again on April 27 before Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Aloise for sentencing. He faces a maximum sentence of 90 years to life in prison.
Jones, 43, was also arrested and charged with criminal possession of a weapon in the second and third degrees. He faces up to 15 years imprisonment if convicted and is due back in court on April 7.
