The NYPD cop who was fatally shot by a career criminal in Queens on Monday night can be seen beaming in his wedding photos just a few years before the senseless killing.
Slain hero Officer Jonathan Diller, a 31-year-old dad, cut a dapper figure in a black tuxedo when he walked down the aisle with his new bride, Stephanie McCauley, in November 2019, family photos on Facebook show.
In one joyful snap, the young couple lifts their joined hands in the air as they leave the church surrounded by loved ones.
This past July, Diller is then pictured proudly posting alongside his infant son as he served as a groomsman at his sister’s Long Island nuptials, reveals another photo.
Diller of Massapequa Park in Long Island had been with the NYPD for three years when he was shot in the stomach by career criminal Guy Rivera, 41, during a traffic stop around 5:50 p.m. Monday.
Diller collapsed on the ground and yelled that he was “hit” after being shot by Rivera from the passenger seat of a vehicle at a bus stop on Mott Avenue in Far Rockaway.
The area of the shooting is a known hotbed for gang activity, sources said.
Despite his injuries, the cop was able to get the gun away from the shooter after it fell to the pavement, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said during a press briefing a few hours after the incident.
Diller was later pronounced dead at Jamaica Hospital.
His family was seen returning home Tuesday morning by car.
A GoFundMe for the family was started by a retired member of the NYPD scuba team and ratcheted up more than $28,000 within 12 hours.
As of Tuesday morning, authorities had not announced any charges against Rivera or the driver, 41-year-old Lindy Jones.
The men had shared associations and were well-known in that part of Queens, sources said.
Rivera’s lengthy rap sheet included 21 prior arrests and five-year stint in prison for possession of a controlled substance.
He had shared associates with Jones, who was also a known recidivist with a history of 14 narcotics, assault and domestic violence-related arrests, records showed.
Last April, Jones was charged with second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and other related charges after he was found with a loaded .25-caliber gun.
He was set to appear at a hearing in that case Monday.
“I can’t not say it any clearer: It is the good guys against the bad guys and these bad guys are violent,” Mayor Eric Adams said Monday night, calling the shooting a “senseless act of violence.”
