A Queens jury on Wednesday found Guy Rivera guilty of aggravated manslaughter in the 2024 shooting death of NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller during a traffic stop, but acquitted him of murder, according to the Associated Press. The verdict capped a roughly three-week trial, after which jurors deliberated for about eight hours, the report said.
Jurors initially announced they had reached a verdict earlier in the day, then when asked individually whether they agreed with the decision, one juror said no. The judge told the jurors to continue deliberations, and they returned later with a unanimous verdict, the Associated Press reported.
The case hinges on the question of intent during the March 25, 2024 stop in Queens. Prosecutors said Rivera pulled out a concealed handgun and intentionally shot Diller as officers were working a routine traffic matter in the Far Rockaway section, according to the Associated Press.
The prosecution said Rivera “chose to ignore multiple lawful commands and chose to shoot Detective Diller,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said after the verdict, the AP reported. Katz is a Democrat, and her office pursued a first-degree murder theory in seeking the most serious charge, the report said, while the jury’s outcome reflected a rejection of that murder charge.
Rivera’s lawyer argued to the jury that the shooting was not intentional. The defense said the gun accidentally discharged as officers pulled the firearm from Rivera’s pocket, according to the Associated Press, and the attorney had no immediate comment after the verdict on Wednesday evening.
Police said officers noticed a suspicious object bulging from Rivera’s hoodie when Rivera and another man walked to a parked car and got in, the Associated Press reported. Authorities said Diller and other officers were on patrol when the encounter escalated, and that Rivera, who was in the passenger seat, then pulled out a gun and shot Diller.
The bullet struck Diller below his bulletproof vest, mortally wounding him, and another officer then shot and wounded Rivera, the AP reported. At the time, Diller was the first NYPD officer to be killed in the line of duty in two years, the report said.
Outside the courtroom, the police officers’ union president Patrick Hendry said the verdict gave Diller’s family “some justice” but not “full closure.” Hendry also said, “This was Murder 1 on a New York City police officer,” and added, “No doubt about it,” the Associated Press reported, citing remarks made with other officers.
In a statement posted on X, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said she was “deeply disappointed” Rivera was not convicted of murder and hoped the judge’s eventual sentence would “reflect the gravity of his actions,” the AP reported. Diller’s widow, Stephanie, was described by the AP as watching as the process unfolded.
The trial also intersected with national politics. The Associated Press said the case briefly became a focal point during President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign to reclaim the White House on a “law and order” message, and that after returning to office, Trump praised Diller in a March 2025 address to Congress, according to the report.
Rivera, 36, faces sentencing on April 27 and could receive a life prison sentence, the Associated Press reported. The AP said Diller had been a police officer for three years, and that Diller and his wife had a son who was 1 when he was killed.