Jonathan Diller: Trump attends wake for New York police officer shot and killed in the line of duty

Former President Donald Trump attended a vigil on Monday for a New York City police officer who was shot and killed during a traffic stop.

Officer Jonathan Diller was shot and killed by the occupants of an illegally parked car.

“We have to stop it. We have to get back to law and order,” Trump said outside a Long Island funeral home after meeting with the Diller family.

He has sought to make crime a key issue in his presidential campaign.

Diller’s killing comes amid a debate over public safety and crime in some major U.S. cities, and is the first killing of a New York City police officer since 2022.

Authorities charged 34-year-old Guy Rivera with first-degree murder of a police officer.

Mr. Rivera is accused of shooting Mr. Diller from his car, which was illegally parked at a bus stop. The New York City Police Department said the officer was shot under his bulletproof vest as he tried to order the occupants to exit the vehicle.

Mr. Diller later died at a hospital, but his death reinforced the perception, especially among Republican voters, that crime was getting worse in New York City.

Crime has fallen by about 1% over the past two years, according to New York City Police Department data.

Trump and other Republicans have routinely accused Democrats of being weak on crime. The former president emphasized this view as he emerged from Diller’s wake surrounded by about a dozen police officers.

“We have to do a lot of things differently because this doesn’t work, and this is happening far too often,” Trump told reporters.

Democratic President Joe Biden, whom Trump is challenging for the White House, was in New York at the same time as his predecessor. He is scheduled to participate in a major fundraiser Thursday night at Manhattan’s Radio City Music Hall. The event was scheduled to include former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, as well as a number of other celebrities.

According to his campaign, the campaign is expected to raise $25 million (£19.8 million) towards Biden’s re-election bid.

Mr. Trump, who faces 91 felonies in four criminal cases, and his staff sought to draw contrasts between the two visits.

Trump campaign spokesman Stephen Chan said on “I will participate in a flashy fundraising event.”

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Thursday that Biden spoke with Mayor Adams and offered the administration’s condolences to Diller’s family.

“Under the previous administration, violent crime skyrocketed,” Jean-Pierre told reporters aboard Air Force One, according to the Associated Press. “The Biden-Harris administration has done just the opposite, taken decisive action from the beginning to defund the police and achieved historic crime reductions.”

A White House press secretary previously said in a briefing that Diller’s death was a “painful reminder of the toll of gun violence,” an issue the administration has been working to address.