NEW YORK (AP) — A man charged in the 2024 shooting death of a New York City police officer has been convicted of aggravated manslaughter but acquitted of murder.
A Queens jury delivered its verdict Wednesday in the case of Guy Rivera, who was charged with killing Officer Jonathan Diller during a traffic stop. The case briefly became a focal point during President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign to reclaim the White House on a message of “law and order.”
Prosecutors said Rivera pulled out a concealed handgun and intentionally shot Diller during a routine police stop in Queens. Rivera “chose to ignore multiple lawful commands and chose to shoot Detective Diller,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement after the verdict.
But Rivera’s lawyer argued the gun accidentally discharged as officers pulled the firearm from Rivera’s pocket. The attorney had no immediate comment Wednesday evening.
Rivera, 36, is set for sentencing April 27. He faces the possibility of life in prison.
Among the key questions during the roughly three-week trial was whether Rivera intended to shoot Diller during the March 25, 2024, traffic stop.
Rivera’s lawyer argued that Rivera had not targeted Diller and that the shooting was not intentional — a key factor prosecutors needed to prove to secure a first-degree murder conviction.
The defense attorneys sought to show that testimony from officers on scene that day contradicted their own body camera footage.
Prosecutors, meanwhile, argued the evidence showed that Rivera intended to use the gun because he had loaded an ammunition clip, chambered a round and switched off the safety before he stuffed it in his pocket.
The shooting happened while Diller and other officers were on patrol in the Far Rockaway section of Queens.
Authorities say one of the officers spotted a suspicious object bulging from Rivera’s hoodie as he and another man walked to a parked car and got in.
Police say the officers were questioning the driver when Rivera, who was in the passenger’s seat, suddenly pulled out a gun and shot Diller.
The bullet struck the officer below his bulletproof vest, mortally wounding him. Another officer then shot and wounded Rivera.
At the time, Diller was the first NYPD officer to be killed in the line of duty in two years. Memorial services for the 31-year-old in his hometown on Long Island drew thousands of visitors, including Trump.
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Associated Press writer Jennifer Peltz contributed.
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