In the wake of a fatal shooting of an NYPD officer in Queens on Monday night, politicians blamed various criminal justice reforms for the cop’s death, despite little evidence to suggest this.
Councilwoman Vickie Paladino, a hard-right Republican, blamed “wages of progressivism” for the shooting in a tweet she posted on X pointing the finger at Democrats in a post.
“Let’s be crystal clear: Every Democrat who voted for or supports criminal justice reform has P.O. Jonathan Diller’s blood on their hands,” the Trump-supporting northern Queens councilwoman wrote.
There is no evidence to suggest that criminal justice reform affected either of the suspects, who are both currently in custody.
Bail reform didn’t take effect until 2020, and it’s unclear whether Rivera was arrested at all since then.
Jones, the other suspect, has an ongoing criminal case for weapon charges in Queens, and was out on $75,000 bail.
“My heart hurts for a young widow and family that lost their loved one tonight,” Councilmember Selvena Brooks-Powers, whose district the shooting took place in, wrote on X, Monday night.
“My thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones; and members of our community that witnessed this cowardly act,” she continued. “Illegal guns have no place on our streets.”
Diller and his partner pulled Lindy Jones, 41, and Guy Rivera, 34, over in a car stop in Far Rockaway just before 5:50 p.m., cops and sources said.
Rivera was repeatedly told to get out of the car, NYPD said, and then shot Diller, 31, in the torso under his bullet-resistant vest. He was rushed to Jamaica Hospital but could not be saved.
Rivera has a long rap sheet. He’s been arrested 21 times, including nine felonies, according to police, and previously served five years behind bars for the criminal sale of a controlled substance, city records show.
Mayor Adams said the perp’s relapse into more criminal behavior was alarming.
“April 2023 — less than a year, gun charge, he’s back on the street,” Adams said. “This is what you call not a crime problem, but a recidivist problem. The same bad people doing bad things to good people. Less than a year, he’s back on the streets.”
The shooting happened less than two blocks from the NYPD’s 101st Precinct station house.
“The loss of NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller is devastating — a husband, a father, someone who signed up to keep New Yorkers safe, killed for doing his job,” Comptroller Brad Lander, a progressive Democrat, wrote. “I join New Yorkers in gratitude for his service, in anger at his killing, in mourning for his loss, in prayers for his family.”
