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NEW YORK — <\/span>A man convicted in the 2024 shooting death<\/a> of a New York City police officer during a traffic stop will spend the rest of his life behind bars after a judge sentenced him Monday to 115 years to life in prison. <\/p>\n During an emotional hearing in a Queens courtroom packed by uniformed police officers and Officer Jonathan Diller\u2019s family, the judge said Guy Rivera \u201cmost certainly will\u201d die in a prison cell.<\/p>\n \u201cYour sentence to me was determined the second you pulled that trigger,\u201d Judge Michael Aloise told Rivera. \u201cIt took me five minutes to calculate the numbers. It\u2019s going to take you a lifetime to calculate the damage you caused.\u201d<\/p>\n A jury found Rivera guilty<\/a> earlier this month of aggravated manslaughter and other charges in Diller’s killing, but acquitted the 36-year-old Queens resident of murder. <\/p>\n The shooting happened on March 25, 2024, when Diller and other officers were on patrol in the Far Rockaway section of Queens. Authorities say one of the officers spotted a suspicious object bulging from Rivera\u2019s hoodie as he and another man walked to a parked car and got in.<\/p>\n Police say the officers were questioning the driver when Rivera, who was in the passenger\u2019s seat, suddenly pulled out a gun and shot Diller. The bullet struck the officer below his bulletproof vest, mortally wounding him. Another officer then shot and wounded Rivera.<\/p>\n At the time, Diller was the first NYPD officer to be killed in the line of duty in two years. The 31-year-old\u2019s wake and funeral in his hometown on Long Island drew thousands<\/a> of people, including President Donald Trump<\/a>, and the case briefly became<\/a> a focal point during his 2024 campaign to reclaim the White House on a message of \u201claw and order.\u201d <\/p>\n The Republican president hailed Diller<\/a> an \u201cunbelievably wonderful person and a great officer\u201d in a March 2025 speech to a joint session of Congress. <\/p>\n Prosecutors had argued that Rivera was deserving of life behind bars because he was a \u201cpersistent felon\u201d with prior criminal convictions who had made a \u201ccalculated, deliberate and evil choice\u201d to inflict violence.<\/p>\n \u201cThis was not an accident,\u201d Assistant District Attorney Kenneth Zawistowski said. \u201cWe ask that you honor Jonathan\u2019s life. We ask that you honor his sacrifice.”<\/p>\n Rivera’s lawyer, Jamal Johnson, argued, as he did during the three-week trial, that Rivera was \u201cnot a murderer\u201d because he did not intend to kill Diller.<\/p>\n He maintained the gun accidentally discharged as officers pulled the firearm from Rivera\u2019s pocket. He pleaded with the judge not to issue a \u201csensational\u201d sentence and complained that Rivera did not receive a fair trial.<\/p>\n Johnson, in a statement after the court hearing, said he intended to appeal his client’s conviction. <\/p>\n \u201cThe fact that the court stated it had already made up its mind about sentencing well before the trial was conducted reveals the bias and uphill battle the defense faced throughout this case,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n The second suspect, Lindy Jones, is due back in court Tuesday as he awaits trial on weapons charges.<\/p>\n On Monday, Rivera declined to address the court but members of Diller’s family delivered tearful remarks. <\/p>\n Stephanie Diller, the officer’s wife, said she and the couple’s young son had been given a life sentence without their husband and father, so Rivera should also be given one. <\/p>\n \u201cYou took my husband and the life we were building,\u201d she said speaking directly to Rivera through tears. \u201cIn a single moment, everything that was my life was gone.\u201d<\/p>\n Fran Diller, the officer’s mother, said she is haunted by her son’s death every day.<\/p>\n \u201cHe had a future so incredibly bright,\u201d she said. \u201cMy world has been completely shattered. Everything feels empty without him. All I feel is unbearable ache.”<\/p>\n Patrick Hendry, president of the police officers\u2019 union, said after the hearing that the manslaughter verdict \u201cdid not send the right message\u201d to police officers but that the sentence had.<\/p>\n \u201cHe should never ever walk the streets again, and he won’t,\u201d Hendry said of Rivera.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n Follow Philip Marcelo at https:\/\/x.com\/philmarcelo<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n