NYC council members should not attend funeral for slain cop, union boss says

The leader of a union representing some of New York's finest has warned certain leaders in New York City to avoid the funeral for one of their fallen brothers this coming weekend.

Vincent J. Vallelong, the president of the NYC Sergeants Benevolent Association, had strong words for members of the New York City Council regarding the "completely avoidable death" of 31-year-old NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller. "The Council members who are vehemently and inexplicably against public safety are responsible for the carnage in the streets," Vallelong said, according to the New York Post.

On Monday, Diller, a three-year veteran of the force, was shot and killed during a routine traffic stop in Queens, leaving behind a wife, Stephanie, and a 1-year-old child. According to reports, his suspected killer, 34-year-old Guy Rivera, has 21 prior arrests to his name.

A funeral for Diller will be held at St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Massapequa on Saturday morning. Vallelong worries that city council members might attend the funeral — and perhaps even "shed a few crocodile tears" — because it presents a "good photo opportunity." Villelong claimed their presence at the funeral would be "a stain on the legacy of a true hero who made the ultimate sacrifice."

Vallelong also claimed that, all too often, council members' "words of sympathy and empathy" at such moments ring "hollow and untrue." He even suggested that any council members "who have declared war on the police" were at least "morally responsible" for Diller's death and "should be the ones ... investigated."

"Despite their admonitions to the contrary, the 'leadership' in the Council has failed city residents, workers, and visitors at every turn. They are blinded by their own hatred and twisted ideology."

The Survivors of the Shield, an organization of NYPD widows and widowers, announced that it had begun fundraising for Diller's wife and child. "We know what Stephanie and [her son] are going through because we’ve all been there," the group's statement said.

Rivera, the man suspected of killing Diller, was likewise wounded during the incident and remains hospitalized but is expected to recover. During treatment, medical professionals reportedly discovered a small shiv lodged in his rectum.

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