A jury acquitted a man of first-degree murder on Wednesday, but convicted him of aggravated manslaughter in the fatal shooting of Detective Jonathan Diller, who had ordered him to step out of a car in Queens in 2024.
The man, Guy Rivera, 36, was also found guilty of attempted murder and illegally possessing a weapon. Mr. Rivera faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
As a foreman read the verdict before a packed courtroom in State Supreme Court in Queens, Detective Diller’s wife choked back tears. Some of the nearly 40 police officers in the gallery put their heads in their hands.
Earlier, the jury had notified Justice Michael Aloise that they had reached a verdict. But, the judge ordered that they resume deliberating after the jury was polled and one juror said that was not his verdict.
After two more hours of deliberating, the jurors returned, acquitting Mr. Rivera of the most serious charge.
During the three-week trial, jurors had heard from the four officers who were with the detective on March 25, 2024, in the Far Rockaway neighborhood of Queens.
At issue was whether the jury believed Mr. Rivera had intentionally pointed his gun and fired at Detective Diller, a required finding for a murder conviction. During the trial, defense lawyers argued the fatal bullet had been an accidental discharge, caused by another officer who had reached into the car to pull out Mr. Rivera.
The moment was not captured on any of the responding officers’ body-worn cameras. While the cameras were turned on, none offered a clear view of when the gun went off.
Prosecutors urged jurors to instead rely on the testimony of Sgt. Sasha Rosen, the officer who had reached into the vehicle, and Detective Veckash Khedna, who said he saw Mr. Rivera’s hand on the gun, and nobody else’s, when it fired.
Jamal Johnson, who represented Mr. Rivera, said during closing arguments on Tuesday that his client had made a “bad decision” to bring a gun in his pocket that evening and to try and get rid of it as officers surrounded his vehicle.
“But that bad decision doesn’t make him guilty of murder,” Mr. Johnson said. “If that gun goes off because Sergeant Rosen is pulling him — ladies and gentlemen, that is unintentional.”
John Kosinski, a Queens prosecutor, said on Tuesday the odds of an accidental discharge striking his “intended target in the gut” were slim to none.
“Is he unlucky? C’mon,” Mr. Kosinski said as dozens of police officers and Stephanie Diller, Detective Diller’s wife, listened from the courtroom gallery. “That’s the person that stood between him and freedom, and that’s why he pulled the trigger.”
The events that led to the shooting in Far Rockaway began to unfold around 5:45 p.m. when Sergeant Rosen said he saw a man walk along Mott Avenue near Beach 20th Street toward his car with a “very distinct” and “L-shaped” object concealed in his sweatshirt pocket.
“Did you see that?” Sergeant Rosen said to Detective Diller and another officer, words that were captured by his body-worn camera.
They approached the front passenger side of the vehicle. Detective Diller, who was the closest to Mr. Rivera, asked him to roll down his window, the footage shows.
“What’s the problem?” Detective Diller said, as Mr. Rivera failed to comply. He then insisted the defendant get out of the car. “For what?” Mr. Rivera responded.
“Yo, pull him out,” Detective Diller said to his colleagues. One of the other officers drew his weapon.
Detective Diller opened the car door, and again asked Mr. Rivera to step out, the footage shows. Mr. Rivera refused. Sergeant Rosen reached into the vehicle to pull him out.
“I just remember seeing a firearm and then a shot,” Sergeant Rosen testified on March 10. He paused and looked down as he sat on the stand. “As soon as I see the gun, the shot goes off.”
Footage from a security camera from a store on Mott Avenue showed Detective Diller falling to the ground. “I’m shot! I’m shot!” he said.
In the courtroom, three of the jurors began to tear up. Several officers hung their heads. Mr. Rivera kept his gaze down as he watched the video play on a small screen.
In the video, a melee ensued on Mott Avenue. Another officer fired twice, striking Mr. Rivera both times. The footage showed what appeared to be Mr. Rivera holding the gun, his finger on the trigger, the firearm pressed up against Sergeant Rosen’s chest.
“I was just praying to not get shot,” Sergeant Rosen testified.
But Mr. Rivera’s gun had jammed.
During closing arguments, Ms. Diller covered her ears as the footage played. She dabbed her eyes with a tissue.
On the day of the shooting, Ms. Diller was at a park on Long Island with her husband and their then 15-month old son, Ryan, when he got the call to come into work.
“I said, ‘I love you, be safe always,’” Ms. Diller said during her testimony on March 11. “He kissed my hand, and that’s the last time I ever saw him.”
That evening, Ms. Diller heard the news that an officer in the 101st Precinct had been shot, she testified. She texted and called her husband. He didn’t respond. Then, using her phone, she checked her husband’s location: Jamaica Hospital Medical Center. The police sent a helicopter to airlift Ms. Diller to the hospital. It was too late.
When she finished her testimony, Ms. Diller stepped down from the stand. As the courtroom door shut behind her, she burst into tears.
Maria Cramer and Chelsia Rose Marcius contributed reporting.
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