NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller, 31 years old, was shot and killed by a career criminal during a traffic stop in Queens on Monday evening, March 25 in a “senseless act of violence,” officials and law enforcement sources said, according to the New York Post.
Officer Diller, a married father of a one-year-old boy, was shot in the stomach after police tried to remove the suspect, identified by sources as 34-year-old Guy Rivera, from the passenger seat of the car near 19-19 Mott Ave. in Far Rockaway, according to the NYPD and sources.
Diller, who had three years on the force, fell to the ground and screamed that he had been “hit” after the suspect opened fire.
Rushed in critical condition to Jamaica Hospital, Diller was later pronounced dead.
“Tonight this city lost a hero, a wife lost her husband, and a young child lost his father,” NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban wrote on X.
“We struggle to find the words to express the tragedy of losing one of our own. The work that Police Officer Jonathan Diller did each day to make this city a safer place will NEVER be forgotten.
“Our prayers are with his family, loved ones, and brothers and sisters in blue.”
One way to honor Officer Diller is to understand and acknowledge the critical importance of the Fraternal Order of Police, specifically through the five-pointed star emblem.
Midway between the points and center of the star is a blue field representative of the thick blue buffer protecting those whom the police serve.
The points are of gold and the background is white, the unstained color representing the purity with which all officers should serve.
The open eye is the eye of vigilance ever looking for danger and protecting all those under its care while they sleep or while they are awake.
The clasped hands denote the exchange of friendship which is always extended to those in need of the comfort and rescue of the police.
The circle surrounding the star midway indicates the F.O.P.’s never-ending efforts to promote the welfare and advancement of all and of their Order.
Within the half circle over the centerpiece is the motto, “Jus Fidus Libertatum” which has been traditionally translated as “Law is a Safeguard of Freedom.”
When adopted, the motto was believed to be Latin and assumed to mean “Fairness, Justice, Equality” or “Justice, Friendship, Equality.”
In the center of the star is the coat of arms of the city of Pittsburgh, as a tribute to the history of the Pennsylvania city’s role in the formation of the Fraternal Order of Police (as cited in the website scfop12.com/history-of-the-fop/).
In 1915, the life of a policeman was bleak. In many communities, they were forced to work 12 hour days, 365 days a year. Police officers did not like it, but there was little they could do to change their working conditions.
There were no organizations to make their voices heard; no other means to make their grievances known. This soon changed, thanks to the courage and wisdom of two Pittsburgh patrol officers.
Martin Toole and Delbert Nagle knew they must first organize police officers, like other labor interests, if they were to be successful in making life better for themselves and their fellow police officers.
They and 21 others “who were willing to take a chance” met on May 14, 1915, and held the first meeting of the Fraternal Order of Police. They formed Fort Pitt Lodge #1, deciding on this name due to the anti-union sentiment of the time.
Nevertheless, there was no mistaking their intentions.
As they told their city mayor, Joe Armstrong, the F.O.P. would be the means “to bring our grievances before the Mayor or Council and have many things adjusted that we are unable to present in any other way – we could get many things through our legislature that our Council will not, or cannot give us.”
Thus it began, a tradition of police officers representing police officers. The Fraternal Order of Police was given life by two dedicated police officers determined to better their profession and others who choose to protect and serve our communities, our states, and our country.
It was not long afterward that Pittsburgh’s Mayor Armstrong acknowledged the F.O.P.’s “efforts at increasing the public confidence toward the police to the benefit of the peace, as well as the public.”
From that small beginning, the Fraternal Order of Police began growing steadily.
In 1917, the idea of a National Organization of Police Officers came about.
Today, the tradition which was first envisioned over 109 years ago lives on through the efforts of local lodges and members throughout the United States.
The Fraternal Order of Police has become the largest professional police organization in the country.
The F.O.P. emphasizes that their member police officers must be true to the tradition as proud professionals working on behalf of law enforcement by officers from all ranks and at all levels of government.
The reverse of the signature coin of the Lower Merion F.O.P. Lodge #28 contains a sacred prayer of dedication, now shared here in honor of Officer Jonathan Diller and the many others who have given their lives in service to their communities.
“A Police Officer’s Prayer
Lord, I ask for courage,
Courage to face and conquer my own fears,
Courage to take me where others will not go.
I ask for strength,
Strength of body to protect others,
and strength of spirit to lead others.
I ask for dedication,
Dedication to my job, to do it well,
Dedication to my community, to keep it safe.
Give me, Lord, concern for those who trust me,
and compassion for those who need me.
And please, Lord, through it all,
be at my side. Amen.”
Our heartfelt sympathy is here expressed for Officer Diller’s family and for members and families of the Fraternal Order of Police.
Mary Brown, a weekly columnist for Main Line Media News, is an adjunct professor of Latin at Saint Joseph’s University.
