NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller was among the many heroes honored at 1 Police Plaza.
The Franklin Square native was posthumously promoted to Detective rank shortly after being shot and killed during a Far Rockaway traffic stop that turned tragic on March 25th, 2024.
He was 31 years old.
President Donald Trump made a notable appearance at the first leg of Diller’s mass-attended, two-day wake services to express his condolences while still campaigning for re-election last year.
"We have to do a lot of things differently because this is not working. This is happening too often," Trump told reporters outside the Massapequa Funeral Home after meeting the Diller family.
“We have to stop it. We need to get back to law and order.”
Trump’s visit lasted about 40 minutes, while Gov. Hochul’s stay the following day was not nearly as lengthy, nor warmly received.
After conversing with Diller’s widow, Hochul was confronted by a man outside. Onlookers clapped as the Governor exited.
A perceived lackadaisical approach to bail reform—which appears within the impassioned platforms of many elected representatives islandwide—under the Hochul administration has been regularly blamed for Diller’s untimely demise.
A married father of an infant child, Diller's presence was surely felt on Thursday. His proud relatives sat front and center at the beautiful ceremony where politics were thankfully checked at the door, and only fondly recalled heroics were on the day's commemorative itinerary.
The department unveiled 50 plaques to serenade just as many fallen cops for their selfless and sacrificial efforts.
One additional plaque—paying tribute to Joseph M. Abate, an electrician who died in 2021 as a result of 9/11-related lung cancer—made it 51 lives honored in total; physically gone, but confirmed never to be forgotten.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch referred to these departed brave men and women of all different ranks and titles, and “whose sacrifices took different forms," as “the very best of us.”
“Their names are being added to our Hall of Heroes,” said Tisch, “but their absence has already been felt at roll calls, in squad cars in homes across the city and the state.”
We at The South Shore Press thank Officer Diller, his fellow fallen heroes, and all the boys and girls in blue, and in general, who risk their lives so that we can live easier.
May they rest in peace, their legacy carry on, and their name be eternally displayed at the Wall of Heroes.