NEW YORK (AP) — A jury will soon decide the fate of a man charged in the 2024 shooting death of New York City police officer, considering a case that briefly became a focal point during President Donald Trump’s campaign to reclaim the White House.
The fatal shooting of Jonathan Diller was cast at the time as an issue of “law and order” by the then-Republican candidate, who attended the officer's wake and continued to cast the Democrat-led city as a hotbed of crime throughout his run.
Among the key questions jurors will weigh is whether defendant Guy Rivera intended to shoot Diller during the March 25, 2024, traffic stop in Queens, with the prosecution and defense arguing both sides during closings on Tuesday.
Prosecutor John Kosinski said video evidence and testimony from officers showed Rivera pulled out a concealed handgun and intentionally shot Diller.
Instead of taking retribution and returning fire, the wounded Diller assisted others in disarming Rivera to make sure no one else got hurt, he said.
“Diller chose life. The defendant chose differently,” Kosinski said as he held up the bullet taken from the body of Diller, who was promoted to detective posthumously.
Rivera’s lawyer, Jamal Johnson, argued that prosecutors failed to prove that the shooting was intentional, which is a key requirement to secure a first-degree murder conviction. Instead, he argued that the gun accidentally discharged as another officer struggled with Rivera.
“This is not intentional. This is not targeted,” Johnson said.
Trial testimony from officers on the scene that day also contradicted their own body camera footage, he argued.
Speaking before a courtroom packed with uniformed officers and Diller’s family, Johnson urged jurors to “question everything” in the police narrative and suggested that the officers who testified had a “motive to lie.”
“They want you to disbelieve what the bodycam shows,” he said.
Kosinski brushed aside that notion, saying, “William Shakespeare couldn’t come up with the words to show the defendant didn’t fire that gun.”
He said the evidence showed that Rivera intended to use the gun that day because he loaded the clip, chambered a round and switched off the safety before he stuffed it in his pocket.
“We don’t tell a story to fit the facts. The facts tell the story,” Kosinski said. “He pulled the trigger. It was in his hands. That’s what happened here.”
The jury is expected to begin deliberating Wednesday in the trial, which has lasted about three weeks.
Rivera could be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted of first-degree murder. The 36-year-old also faces other charges, including attempted murder.
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.
After visiting the funeral home with Diller's family, Trump called his death “such a sad, sad event, such a horrible thing.”
“The police are the greatest people we have. There’s nothing and there’s nobody like them. And this should never happen,” Trump said.
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FILE - New York Police Department Officer Jonathan Diller is on a screen during his funeral service at Saint Rose of Lima R.C. Church in Massapequa Park, N.Y., March 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeenah Moon, File)
LONDON (AP) — Thomas Tuchel insisted England’s dispiriting 1-0 loss to Japan in a friendly on Tuesday will have no bearing on the team’s chances at the upcoming World Cup.
England has lost some of the momentum built up under Tuchel by drawing with Uruguay at Wembley Stadium on Friday and then succumbing to Kaoru Mitoma’s first-half goal for Japan at the same venue four days later.
Tuchel has fielded experimental lineups for both games, with key regulars like captain Harry Kane, Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka missing because of minor injuries.
The German coach also said many of his players are “heavily invested” in their club campaigns at this stage of the season.
For that reason, Tuchel felt sure “this camp will not define us.”
“It’s just a reality if teams like Uruguay or Japan come well-drilled, with their top lineup, it’s a difficult task,” Tuchel said.
“It was not necessary to lose the match. Unfortunately, we lost it, which is disappointing, and I hate losing, like no one else, and it will take a while to digest. But it will not affect us massively for when we arrive in the U.S.”
Cole Palmer and Phil Foden are star players in the Premier League but battling to simply make England’s squad for the World Cup, and were given another chance to impress Tuchel after being handed starts against Japan.
They failed to take it, with England especially poor in the first half when the team failed to manage a shot on target for the first time in a friendly match since 2017, according to statistics company Opta.
With Morgan Rogers and Jude Bellingham other options as attacking midfielders, Palmer and Foden face anxious waits to see if they make the plane for the tournament.
“I’m not the biggest fan of talking about individuals, but, of course if we put offensive players on the pitch, we demand offensive actions, we demand creativity, we demand shots, we demand assists, and we clearly didn’t have enough. We could not create,” said Tuchel, who deployed Foden as a so-called “false nine” in Kane’s absence.
“We made it difficult for us to find them in the half-spaces. We struggled to open up these spaces. We played against the deep 5-4-1. We didn’t use the width of the field enough to make the difference, and our offensive players struggled to make the difference.”
Tuchel accepted that the absence of Kane hurt his team.
“No team in the world has the same threat (without Kane),” he said. “It’s just normal. On top of it, Harry dropped out so we lost not only him as a player, but we lost him as a personality. It’s always a bit disruptive if the captain leaves the last training after 15 minutes and is out of the squad.
“We can win games without Harry,” Tuchel added. “We will win without Harry. We have won without Harry, but it’s easier to win matches with Harry, of course.”
In other friendlies, Euro 2024 champion Spain was held 0-0 by Egypt, and the Netherlands — another title hopeful this summer — drew 1-1 at home to Ecuador after playing most of the game with 10 men after Denzel Dumfries’ 12th-minute red card.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Japan players celebrate after winning the International friendly soccer match between England and Japan in London, Tuesday, March 31, 2026 . (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
England's Phil Foden reacts after his team lost the International friendly soccer match between England and Japan in London, Tuesday, March 31, 2026 . (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
England's Harry Kane reacts after his team lost the International friendly soccer match between England and Japan in London, Tuesday, March 31, 2026 . (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
England's head coach Thomas Tuchel looks on before the start of the International friendly soccer match between England and Japan in London, Tuesday, March 31, 2026 . (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
England's head coach Thomas Tuchel reacts during the International friendly soccer match between England and Japan in London, Tuesday, March 31, 2026 . (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
