Eight months after Det. Jonathan Diller was killed in the line of duty during a traffic stop in Far Rockaway; his widow and young son are still feeling the warm embrace of the NYPD community.
Stephanie Diller welcomed more than 500 people to the inaugural kick-off fundraising event for a scholarship named in honor of her husband at Mulcahy’s Pub and Concert Hall in Wantagh, Long Island, on Nov. 20.
“To be his wife and to feel all the love and support, how amazing the community has been, thank you could never be enough,” she said. “It is so meaningful and so impactful. You know, at the lowest point of my life to be surrounded by so much love. What happened to Jonathan was horrible, and it shows you the bad in the world, but then all of the support and love has shown me all the good people in the world and how much love people have in their hearts.”
Diller worked out of the 105th Precinct in Queens Village and was assigned to the Patrol Borough Queens South Community Response Team on March 25 when he was allegedly shot by 34-year-old Guy Rivera of Woodside. Officers from the NYPD, the Nassau County Police Department and the Suffolk County Police Department all threw their support behind the fund. The event raised $70,000, which will directly fund annual scholarships for tuition for students at St. Mary’s High School in Manhasset, where her husband was a student-athlete.
“Jonathan always talked so fondly about his time there and he was always involved in sports and was very active and that’s what made him the person he was,” Stephanie said. “I want the scholarship to go to someone who is just like Jonathan and to have the experience and to continue for people to become like him…We need more Jonathans in the world.”
The scholarship will benefit at least one student a year at St. Mary’s who exhibits Diller’s drive for academic and athletic success and passion for a career in law enforcement.
“Jonathan was the most giving person you could ever meet,” Stephanie said. “He’d give the shirt off his back to anybody, and just to see his sacrifice benefit others through the scholarship and to see it go to deserving students, he would be very proud, and I am very proud.”
She added that the last time the couple had been to Mulcahy’s was right before they got married. MGD Investments president Larry Weinberger organized and established the fund, bringing together supporters and sponsors. Weinberger said he did not have connections to the Diller family prior to Jonathan’s death but was moved by the story.
“Detective Diller’s dedication to police work and his love of being a police officer was apparent to all who knew him,” Weinberger said. “This fund will create a never-ending legacy for Detective Diller as every year the high school Jonathan attended, St. Mary’s, will select a student(s) in need of support pursuing their education and career goals.”
The fund is continuing to accept donations online. For more information, to support this effort, or to donate, call 516-409-1800. St. Mary’s has established a featured webpage for the scholarship, which outlines the details and allows for donations. For more information about the scholarship, visit here.
