A Queens jury delivered a split decision Wednesday in one of the most closely watched police killing cases in recent memory, convicting Guy Rivera on manslaughter and weapons charges but acquitting him of first-degree murder in the death of NYPD Detective Jonathan Diller.
After roughly eight hours of deliberation, the jury found Rivera, 36, not guilty of murdering Diller in the first degree. But jurors still held him responsible for the detective’s death, convicting him on aggravated manslaughter and illegal weapons possession. They also found him guilty of attempted first-degree murder of Diller’s partner, Sergeant Sasha Rosen.
The verdict drew sharp reaction from law enforcement officials who had followed the case since Diller, 31, was shot and killed during a traffic stop on Mott Avenue in Far Rockaway in March 2024.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz and Patrick Hendry, president of the Police Benevolence Association, said they were relieved Rivera would likely spend the rest of his life in prison. But both expressed clear frustration that the top charge did not stick.
“These police officers know behind me that this was murder one on a New York City police officer,” Hendry said outside the courthouse. “This cold-blooded killer had no regard for human life and carried a loaded firearm onto the streets. When our police officers approached him, he could have surrendered that illegal firearm, but no. He saw a police officer and didn’t care who was behind the uniform. He squeezed that trigger.”
The stop that led to Diller’s death began when Rosen believed she saw Rivera carrying a gun earlier that evening. Officers pulled over the car, driven by Rivera’s friend Lindy Jones, and asked both occupants to lower the windows, open the doors, and step out. Rivera stayed inside. A brief struggle broke out between Rivera and police through the car window, ending in gunshots that killed Diller.
Over a three-week trial, jurors repeatedly watched body-worn camera footage of the confrontation. Defense attorney Jamal Johnson of the Legal Aid Society argued Rivera never intended to fire the weapon and that it was actually Rosen’s finger that hit the trigger when she reached into the car. Johnson also argued officers who testified had reason to shape their accounts in ways that protected themselves and their colleagues. Rivera himself was shot during the scuffle.
Prosecutors pushed back hard. Assistant District Attorney John Kosinski argued the evidence showed Rivera clearly intended to kill Diller.
The case drew intense public attention, partly because it unfolded against a broader debate about public safety, officer safety, and how courts handle cases involving the deaths of police. For many in law enforcement, the acquittal on the top charge felt like an incomplete reckoning. For Rivera’s defense team, the mixed verdict reflected genuine factual dispute about what happened inside and around that car.
What the verdict does not change is the basic outcome: Diller is gone, leaving behind a family and a precinct that mourned him publicly and loudly. Rivera, despite avoiding the first-degree murder conviction, faces a sentence that could keep him incarcerated for decades. Aggravated manslaughter in New York carries significant prison time, and the attempted murder conviction for the attack on Rosen adds further exposure.
Jury deliberations in high-profile cases rarely produce clean outcomes. This one followed that pattern. Eight hours of debate produced a verdict that satisfied almost no one fully. Law enforcement wanted murder one. The defense wanted an acquittal. The jury landed somewhere in between, weighing intent, physical evidence, and competing accounts from officers under enormous stress.
For Far Rockaway residents who live in the neighborhood where the shooting happened, the trial has served as a reminder of how quickly a routine stop can turn fatal and how long the legal aftermath can stretch. Diller’s name has been attached to this case for two years now. His family, his colleagues, and the community around his precinct will carry the weight of what happened on Mott Avenue long after the courtroom empties out.