Young widow of slain NYPD Detective Jonathan Diller rips elected officials for allowing NYC crime to spiral during devastating eulogy

Metro

By Georgett Roberts, Khristina Narizhnaya, Larry Celona and Mary Kay Linge

The young widow of slain hero cop Jonathan Diller tore into elected officials for allowing crime in NYC to spiral unchecked, as an estimated 10,000 people gathered in Long Island to salute her husband at his funeral Saturday.

“How many more police officers and how many more families have to make the ultimate sacrifice before we start protecting them?” Stephanie Diller, 29, tearfully demanded during her devastating eulogy inside St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Massapequa.

Diller was fatally shot Monday during a traffic stop in Far Rockaway, Queens, by a pair of career criminal with dozens of prior arrests, authorities said.

His widow’s speech recounted warm memories of her 31-year-old husband and their life together — as their adorable son Ryan, 1, dressed in a tiny navy blue suit, innocently babbled over her shoulder.

“I am so proud that thousands of people across the country are calling Jonathan a hero,” she said. “But the truth is he’s always been a hero to Ryan and me. The rest of the world is just catching up.”

The solemn service took place on Holy Saturday, one of the most mournful dates on the Christian calendar, and featured a scripture reading centered on St. Michael, the traditional patron saint of police officers.

As the ceremony continued:

• Diller was posthumously promoted to Detective First Grade during the funeral service, with a new badge number 110, his son’s birthday. “What he loved most was being Ryan’s dad,” NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban explained.
• Father Michael Duffy, who celebrated the Dillers’ wedding in 2019, presided over the funeral service. “He did love you with every fiber of his body,” he told the grieving widow. “You guys are Jon’s everything.”
• Locals poured out to support the ranks of law enforcement mourners, offering water bottles, snacks, and bathrooms to the visitors, who came from as far away as Toronto and Miami.

• Former President Donald Trump sent a huge spray of red, white and blue flowers to the church in sympathy.
• The crowd included former mayor Rudy Giuliani, Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa, and former NYPD Commissioners Keechant Sewell, Dermot Shea, and Bernard Kerik.

Stephanie Diller’s eulogy came after stirring remarks from Caban, Mayor Eric Adams, and PBA President Patrick Hendry.

Hendry teared up as he praised Diller as “our hero brother” and condemned the “dangerous, evil” pair who allegedly shot him dead in Queens on Monday.

An emotional Adams said, “The outpouring of grief for this young man is real, and it is raw.”

“He ran towards danger … undoubtedly saving lives,” Adams said, insisting that “This is a city of law and order, not disorder.”

But the sadness inside the church was matched by anger at the presence of left-wing Democratic politicians such as  Comptroller Brad Lander, who championed defunding the police in 2020 and  state Attorney General Letitia James,  who critics have bashed as largely mum in the fight to fix the controversial  no-cash bail law.

“I actually think it’s disrespectful that they are here,” said Terry Dunne of Massapequa.

“It’s disgusting,” said Tara Balestria, the wife of an NYPD lieutenant. “They should have to go out and deal with the criminals on the streets.”

Retired NYPD Sgt. Brian Foley teared up as he stood in uniform outside the funeral and urged lawmakers who support bail reform to “walk a beat. They should walk a beat and then they can come talk to me.”

The funeral and its solemn pageantry is “one of the most beautiful things, to see all these people standing together for one reason, you can hear a pin drop,” said Foley. “It is also the saddest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Diller’s accused killer, Guy Rivera, who allegedly  opened fire during a routine traffic stop on Monday, had 21 prior arrests. Lindy Jones, the ex-con allegedly behind the wheel who was arrested after a second gun was found in the vehicle, also had a lengthy rap sheet, authorities said.

“It’s despicable,” Foley lamented. “He had over 20 arrests, career criminal already with a firearm. His driver had how many arrests, and had a firearm. It’s unbelievable.”

Maria Silverman, 50, a Manhattan-based actor married to an NYPD lieutenant, said Diller’s was the eighth funeral she’d attended for an officer killed in the line of duty.

“I’m a lifelong Democrat, but the thing where I really differ from the party line is support for the police,” she said. “I think the way cops have been treated, 50,000 assaults a year, the maligning of their active service and sacrifice, is galling.”

“We shouldn’t have to be here,” said Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder. “Laws need to be changed.”

Outside the brick church, little Ryan reached out to his father’s casket, draped in the NYPD’s green, white and blue flag, as it departed for the cemetery — while his mother tenderly kissed the boy’s head.

Uniformed police officers, firefighters in bunker gear, and at least 700 motorcyclists from all over the country lined the road leading to St. Charles Resurrection Cemetery in Farmingdale, where Diller was laid to rest.