An accused cop killer came face-to-face with the victim’s widow Tuesday in a Queens courtroom where prosecutors urged jurors to convict the suspect they say could have killed another officer if his weapon hadn’t jammed.
Ex-con Guy Rivera, 35, faces murder, attempted murder and weapon possession charges nearly two years after the shooting death of NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller, a Long Island husband and father protecting residents and merchants on his beat in Far Rockaway.
Dozens of uniformed police officers crowded Queens Supreme Court, where lawyers for both sides began their opening statements on the first day of the highly anticipated trial. Diller’s widow, Stephanie Diller, appeared overwhelmed with emotion as she sat in the gallery listening.
An NYPD officer wipes away a tear leaving the murder trial of Guy Rivera on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Queens, New York. Rivera is accused of killing NYPD officer Jonathan Diller in 2024. (Barry Williams/ New York Daily News)
Rivera, who had more than 20 prior arrests before the shooting, faces life in prison for the single-shot death of Diller, 31, who had only been on the force for three years.
“Jonathan Diller was a talented person who could have succeeded at any profession that he would have chosen,” Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry said outside the courthouse. “But he knew he had a mission in life — to help people and save lives. And he did that every day as a New York City police officer. Unfortunately, his family is going to have to relive this nightmare for the next three weeks.”
Prosecutors said in court that Diller was supposed to be off the day he was shot but had been called in to work a shift in a neighborhood beset by violence and robberies.
Police secure a vehicle on Mott Ave. in Far Rockaway, Queens, after NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller was fatally shot while making a car stop on March 25, 2024. (Sam Costanza for New York Daily News)
On March 25, 2024, while patrolling a street in Far Rockaway. Diller and his partner, Sgt. Sasha Rosen, crossed paths with a man in a hoodie with an L-shaped object tucked in his pocket, authorities said.
They followed him to a car and asked him several times to roll down his window, cops said. When the door finally opened, Rivera, seated on the passenger side, removed his seatbelt before quickly reaching for his gun and shooting Diller, prosecutors said. The bullet lodged in the officer’s hip below his bulletproof vest, striking an artery and causing massive internal bleeding.
Diller died a short time later at Jamaica Hospital.
Stephanie Diller, center, the widow of NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller, listens to opening statements during the trial of Guy Rivera, who is charged with the murder of the slain cop, at Queens Criminal Supreme Court Tuesday. (Dave Sanders/Pool/The New York Times)
Another officer returned fire, hitting Rivera twice.
Cops said Rivera’s gun jammed after he fired the single fatal shot, and Diller’s partner escaped unharmed.
”This individual made a calculated and deliberate action to point a loaded and operable firearm,” Assistant Queens District Attorney Kenneth Zawistowski told jurors. ”He held the firearm in the direction of Officer Diller and pulled the trigger.”
Guy Rivera, charged in the fatal shooting of NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller, listens to opening statements as his trial begins at Queens Criminal Supreme Court on Tuesday. (Dave Sanders/Pool/The New York Times)
Though mortally wounded, Diller managed to rip the gun out of the shooter’s hand, Zawistowski said.
“Officer Diller was aware that there were innocent lives still around, his fellow officers and nearby citizens,” Zawistowski said. “And it’s at that time, that remarkable moment, that officer Diller fulfilled his solemn promise to protect and serve, no matter the danger, no matter the pain, no matter the cost.”
PBA President Patrick Hendry speaks after the first day of murder trial of career criminal Guy Rivera, Tuesday, March 10, 2026 in Queens, New York. Rivera is accused of killing NYPD officer Jonathan Diller in 2024. (Barry Williams/ New York Daily News)
Rivera’s lawyers told jurors that he did not intend to shoot Diller and that the fatal shot was fired during a struggle for the weapon. Lindy Jones, who was in the driver’s seat of the car that was stopped, has been charged with gun possession.
Days after Diller’s death, mourners, including President Trump, who was in between terms in office, filled a Long Island funeral home to salute the slain officer.
Funeral services for slain NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller at the Saint Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Massapequa, Long Island, on March 30, 2024. (Theodore Parisienne for New York Daily News)
A thin blue line was painted along Merrick Road in the heart of Massapequa Park, where blue ribbons dotted homes throughout the officer’s neighborhood.