OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Thousands of New York City police officers lined streets near the St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church to say farewell to slain NYPD officer Jonathan Diller, 31, in an overwhelming display of unity on Saturday, just days after President Joe Biden was ripped for attending a swanky fundraiser following the officer’s murder.
Video and images from the event showed throngs of uniformed NYPD officers lining streets ahead of the funeral procession to honor Diller, who was shot and killed in Queens during a routine traffic stop last week by a career criminal with several prior arrests, including nine felony charges.
Diller left behind a one-year-old son and a young wife.
Former President Donald Trump was invited to attend Diller’s wake while the NYPD sergeant’s association told Democratic officials in the state to stay away. Also, reports say he gave a huge donation to the Tunnel to Towers charity to pay off the Diller family’s mortgage, though that has not been confirmed by Conservative Brief.
Tunnel to Towers is honored to announce a mortgage payoff for the family of NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller, who was fatally shot and killed during a routine traffic stop on March 25th. Officer Diller is survived by his loving wife, Stephanie, and their one-year-old son. pic.twitter.com/GYXzSlOco4
— Tunnel to Towers Foundation (@Tunnel2Towers) March 28, 2024
Today, we joined together to mourn and say our final goodbyes to Detective Jonathan Diller, a true hero who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to his city. His bravery and dedication to keeping his community safe will never be forgotten. #FidelisAsMortem pic.twitter.com/LL1bBImBdl
— NYPD Chief of Patrol (@NYPDChiefPatrol) March 30, 2024
JUST IN: Thousands of New York police gather for slain NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller’s funeral today. pic.twitter.com/yvmQHELsEy
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) March 30, 2024
Officer Diller was posthumously promoted to Detective First Grade. NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban assigned him shield No. 110, which symbolically represents his son’s birthday.
The NYPD will always uphold our most solemn vow to #neverforget. That eternal recognition of Jonathan begins today, as I am honored and privileged to promote Police Officer Jonathan Diller to Detective First Grade.
His new shield number is 110, his son’s birthday. pic.twitter.com/4eaFuMnZFK
— Edward A. Caban (@NYPDPC) March 30, 2024
Meanwhile, on Thursday, President Biden traveled to New York City with former Presidents Obama and Clinton for a multimillion-dollar, star-studded fundraiser, while Trump attended Det. Diller’s wake, providing more fuel for critics of Biden who, according to some reports, had yet to even contact Diller’s wife and family to express condolences.
“Biden does a fancy NYC fundraiser in the midst of chaotic left-wing street protests–looks like limousine liberalism plus the breakdown of law and order. And Trump attends the wake of a slain NYPD police officer on Long Island,” former conservative magazine publisher William Kristol wrote on the X platform. He also called it an “unfortunate day politically for the Democrats.”
The star-studded fundraiser hosted by Biden in New York City was interrupted multiple times by protesters inside and outside the event, who clashed with NYPD officers, Fox News added.
Stephanie Diller, the fallen officer’s wife, gave a moving tribute to her late husband:
I had not had the opportunity to speak before this moment, so what I would like to say, on behalf of the entire Diller family, is thank you all for the support this week.
The outpouring of love that our family has received has been overwhelming and we are forever thankful to everyone.
With every hug that I’ve received, I just picture that each one is from Jonathan.
I wish Jonathan was here to see the incredible kindness and generosity that has been shown to our family. But I know in his own way he is here watching over us.
I am so proud that thousands of people across the country are calling Jonathan a hero. But the truth is he’s always been a hero to Ryan and me. The rest of the world is just catching up. Although he was beyond proud to be a member of NYPD, his career was one of his many roles.
I want to also honor Jonathan for who he was out of uniform. I am not sure where to start and I could probably talk about Jonathan for hours, so I’ll start from the beginning:
Jonathan was born and raised on Long Island. The son of Fran and Steven Diller, and brother to Jennifer and Jason. He was the youngest of the three, which obviously means he was the mischievous one. But he also had the sweetest heart and the guiltiest conscience. So he would always smooth things over by making his mom handwritten apology letters.
He grew up . . . playing lacrosse and hockey, forming friendships that would last a lifetime. He was a connector: the kinda guy who would draw people in, and find something in common with everyone, a friend to everyone.
Following his graduation from . . . high school, he attended SUNY Maritime, where he lived with his cousin Robert. He loved telling stories of traveling all over the world, seeing beautiful places and making amazing memories.
After graduation, Jonathan and I started dating, after getting set up by our mutual friend Evan. I remember on one of our very first dates, we went to see a movie. He was so tired from work that he fell asleep in the movie theater. He started snoring so loudly that the people around us asked me to wake him up. But of course, if you ever ask him the story, I am the one who fell asleep, started snoring and embarrassed him.
…
It breaks my heart that Ryan was robbed to grow up with his dad. Jonathan had so many things he wanted to teach him, like how to play ice hockey, how to drive a car, ride a bike. To watch Ryan go to his first day of school, and watching him graduate on his last.
