MASSAPEQUA, NY — Thousands of New York police officers gathered to honor one of their slain brethren, stretching for several blocks down the main street of the Long Island suburb that Officer Jonathan Diller and his family called home.
Diller, 31, was fatally shot in the stomach last Monday by an ex-con on parole while he had the suspect pulled over for a traffic stop in Queens. The shooter had 21 prior arrests, reported Fox News.
The funeral service was held on March 30 at St. Rose of Lima Church in Massapequa and included remarks by New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who was himself a former NYPD officer, and Diller’s widow, Stephanie.
Adams said that being a police officer in today’s political climate is more difficult than when he “wore the uniform,” appearing to draw attention to the soft-on-crime policies that many blame for the city’s recent rise in crime.
“As the elected representative of this city… we’re going to make sure [officers] have what they need to do their job, including making sure that violent career criminals are held accountable for their crimes and doing all we can to end gun violence in this city. That’s what Jonathan was committed to doing, and that is what we will continue to do,” Adams said.
Today, officers are “inundated every day with those who are loud, but they’re not the majority,” Adams said. “New Yorkers admire you, love you, and support you.”
“This is a city of law and order, not disorder. And I believe we will continue to move our city in the right direction with the sacrifices that you pay every day,” Adams continued. “Sometimes it feels like our society does not appreciate that, but they do.”
“Your mayor stands with you. I am you. I know what it is to adorn that bulletproof vest… we will do everything in our power to ensure that our New Yorkers and police officers live in the safest big city in America,” he added.
Diller’s widow, Stephanie, spoke last, telling the crowd about the pain of knowing her baby son would grow up without his father.
“Jonathan always wanted to be a dad, and he wasted no time being the greatest one,” Stephanie said.
She addressed the policies that she blamed for her husband’s death, as well as for the shooting deaths of two NYPD officers, Detectives Wilbert Mora and Jason Rivera, in 2022, laying the blame squarely at the feet of city officials like Adams.
“Dominic Rivera stood in front of all the elected officials present today pleading for change. That change never came, and now my son will grow up without his father. I will grow old without my husband, and his parents have to say goodbye to their child,” she said.
“How many more police officers and how many more families need to make the ultimate sacrifice before we start protecting them?” asked Stephanie.
Former NYPD officer John Mangan, who retired 23 years ago and was a first responder on 9/11, stood outside the church with a sign reading, “God Bless the NYPD.”
Mangan expressed skepticism about Adam’s commitment to making the city safer. He has taken the sign with him to the funerals of NYPD officers killed in the line of duty since 2014, and things have steadily worsened, he said.
“These poor cops put their lives on the line every day, and they have lousy prosecutors, judges that have failed to enforce the law, and no bail. People get out, and they let them go. And they give you the finger,” he said.
“The mayor, the governor, and the city council have blood on their hands,” Mangan added.
Massapequa has a reputation for being a right-leaning suburb of mostly Democrat-controlled New York City. Gov. Kathy Hochul attended Diller’s wake on March 29, where reports say she was forced to leave early as the slain officer’s family was less than welcoming, per Fox News. Former President Donald Trump attended the wake on March 28 after being invited by Stephanie.
Other notable attendees included former New York City mayor Rudy Juliani and actor Tony Danza.
The Dallas Express has extensively covered soft-on-crime policies, often promoted under the guise of “criminal justice reform,” including underfunding police departments in the nation’s largest cities, such as Dallas.
At present, the Dallas Police Department only fields around 3,000 sworn personnel. According to a City report, a jurisdiction the size of Dallas needs approximately 4,000 officers. Budgeting only around $654 million for DPD this fiscal year, the Dallas City Council chose to spend less taxpayer money on public safety than other high-crime jurisdictions, such as Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City.