Driver charged in Queens shootout that killed NYPD cop Jonathan Diller
Published in News & Features
Investigators now believe Jones and Rivera were either casing a nearby T-Mobile store or keeping tabs on someone they wanted to rob when the cops approached and asked them to move the vehicle.
Rivera, 34, refused Diller’s command to open the passenger side door, according to an NYPD official. When Jones finally complied and popped the locks, Diller tried to open the door but Rivera twice pulled the door back.
When Diller then managed to yank the door open, Rivera allegedly pulled a gun and shot the officer.
“You can hear [Diller] say, ‘Take your hands out of your pocket,’ ” said the NYPD official who reviewed the body camera footage. “And then he’s shot and you hear him say, ‘I’m shot!’ ”
Diller’s partner opened fire three times in response. A bullet blasted through the closed driver’s side window, flew past Jones sitting behind the wheel and hit Rivera in the back.
Rivera’s gun, which jammed after he fired once, fell to the ground. A second gun was later found in the vehicle, according to police sources.
Despite his fatal wound, Diller managed to grab Rivera’s gun before the suspect could pick it up.
Rivera remained in the hospital Wednesday morning. Charges against him are pending.
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