The widow of NYPD officer Jonathan Diller broke down in tears surrounded by a sea of blue in a New York City courtroom as prosecutors gave a graphic description of the bullet that “ripped through” the married father after a man allegedly fired multiple shots at him during a routine traffic stop.
Stephanie Diller walked out of the Queens courtroom before body camera footage of the 2024 shooting death of her husband was played in the murder trial of 35-year-old Guy Rivera in Queens Supreme Court Tuesday.
“[Rivera] took out his gun and pointed it at officer Diller,” Assistant District Attorney Ken Zawistowski said during the trial’s opening statements.
“He shot officer Diller underneath his bulletproof vest, causing his intestines to be ripped through and causing his iliac artery to be severed — one of the body’s most vital arteries,” Zawistowski continued.
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“The bullet ripped through his abdomen and, in the last moments of his life, he ripped the gun from the killer’s hands.”
The body camera footage showed the moments officers attempted to revive Diller in the immediate aftermath of the shooting.
Dozens of police officers sat silently in the courtroom gallery for the first day of Rivera’s trial, filling two overflow rooms and surrounding Diller’s widow as jurors listened to opening statements. Several officers teared up during the proceedings.
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Rivera, a career criminal with nearly two dozen prior arrests, according to police, pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder charges after prosecutors said he gunned down Diller in Far Rockaway March 25, 2024.
The incident unfolded after Diller inspected a suspicious vehicle parked outside a T-Mobile store, and Rivera, who was seated in the passenger seat, allegedly fired three rounds at the officer, striking him in the stomach.
Rivera’s attorney, Erin Darcy, claimed shots were fired in “an unintentional discharge” as a police sergeant attempted to pull Rivera out of the vehicle, making the NYPD responsible for Diller’s death.
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Rivera was also shot during the confrontation.
On Tuesday, Zawistowski pointed to the fact that Rivera faced a choice when Diller approached his vehicle.
“One, surrender his firearm peacefully and inform the officers that he was in possession of two loaded firearms — one tucked in his jacket pocket and the other in the glove compartment in front of him,” Zawistowski said.
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“The defendant had choices. That day, he chose violence.”
In a statement, NYPD PBA President Patrick Hendry promised that NYPD officers would continue to appear in the courtroom to support Diller’s loved ones as Rivera’s trial unfolds.
“Jonathan Diller was a talented person who could have succeeded at any profession that he would have chosen,” Hendry said, according to the New York Post. “But he knew he had a mission in life — to help people and save lives. And he did that every day as a New York City Police officer.
“Unfortunately, his family is going to have to relive this nightmare for the next three weeks.”
Rivera’s attorney and the NYPD PBA did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Olivia Palombo contributed to this report.
