Former President Donald Trump attended the wake for slain New York City Police Officer Jonathan Diller on Thursday.
Diller, 31, was shot and killed during a routine traffic stop in Far Rockaway, Queens, on March 25, 2024.
Officer Diller and another officer had approached a vehicle illegally parked in front of a bus stop. They asked the two people inside, Lindy Jones, 41, and Guy Rivera, 34, to move the vehicle. The two men refused to cooperate, roll down their windows, or show their hands.
Instead, Rivera shot Diller.
ABC News reports, "Both men have a lengthy criminal history. Jones, who has had 14 prior arrests including attempted murder and robbery, was out on bail in connection to a separate crime, police records indicate. Rivera was previously arrested by the NYPD 21 times, according to police records."
“What happened is such a sad event,” Trump told the press and mourners outside the Massapequa Funeral Home on Long Island. “It’s happening all too often, and we’re just not going to let it happen.”
Trump stressed that it is time to get "back to law and order."
"We have to stop it. We have to stop it," Trump said. "We have to get back to law and order. We have to do a lot of things differently, because this is not working."
"They don't learn because they don't respect. They don't," Trump said of the criminals. "They're not given the respect, the police are the greatest people we have. There's nothing, and there's nobody like them, and this should never happen." President Trump speaks at the wake of slain NYPD officer Jonathan Diller while Joe Biden parties in luxury at $500,000 a ticket in NYC:
"We have to stop it. We have to get back to law and order...because this is not working. This is happening too often." pic.twitter.com/VpOCBmUinp
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) March 28, 2024
Diller left behind a wife and one-year-old son.
Trump discussed meeting Diller's wife and their child. He said the baby "doesn't know how his life has been changed."
Rivera has now been charged with murder of a police officer, attempted murder, and criminal possession of a weapon. Diller's partner had shot him after he opened fire, and he remained hospitalized on Thursday — so the date of his arraignment is unknown.
Jones has been charged with criminal possession of a weapon and possession of a defaced firearm.
President Joe Biden was also in New York on Thursday but was attending a fundraiser for his campaign alongside former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. He did not stop by the wake.
