Just before midnight on Monday, a legion of grief-stricken cops assembled outside Jamaica Hospital to salute Police Officer Jonathan Diller, who lost his life in the line of duty hours earlier after being mortally wounded in a Far Rockaway gunfight.
Officers stood at attention as Diller’s family emerged, their sobs and cries of pain the only audible noises on the still air. Next came the bagpipes that sorrowful music that played as the fallen cop was wheeled by police officials and into the back of the ambulance.
Diller, who lived in Massapequa on Long Island, was driven by motorcade to the Chief Medical Examiner’s office in Manhattan for an autopsy.
As the vehicle faded into the distance the members of service left behind wept, embracing one another in the — alone in the cold night fully realizing that the pain of loss had only just begun to sting.
Police say Jonathan Diller lost his life on March 25 after being shot in the abdomen after approaching two men in a car in Far Rockaway. The monumental loss drew top police brass and mayor Eric Adams to the hospital where they lamented the death.
“The doctors did everything they could. Tragically, they couldn’t save him, he succumbed to his injuries,” Police Commissioner Edward Caban told reporters, tears welling in his eyes.
Hours after the cop’s hero death was announced to the world, his brothers and sisters in blue still waited for him, ready to salute him one more time.
While the NYPD started its mourning process, elected officials released an outpouring of support as the news spread.
“I am heartbroken by the senseless killing of Officer Jonathan Diller tonight in Queens. My prayers are with his family, loved ones and the members of the NYPD. His heroism and service will never be forgotten,” Governor Kathy Hochul wrote.
“The city mourns with you tonight. New Yorkers know that even in the face of danger, even in a moment of mourning, NYPD officers will always bravely answer the 911 call of a New Yorker in need, and we are grateful for your courage and grieving in your loss,” Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said in a statement.
“We lost one of our sons tonight, and I am heartbroken for his wife, family, and all New Yorkers. Officer Jonathan Diller was just doing his job in Queens, working to keep his fellow New Yorkers safe, and a senseless act of violence took his life — a senseless act carried out by a dangerous individual with a gun and a total disregard for our people in uniform,” Mayor Adams wrote on X.
Officer Diller had been with the NYPD for three years and had made over 70 arrests. Funeral arrangements are pending.
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