A GoFundMe set up for slain New York Police Department officer Jonathan Diller has raised more than $500,000 for his family after he was killed on Monday.
On Thursday, a statement on the crowdfunding site for the fallen 31-year-old NYPD officer said it has raised more than $573,000 — through nearly 8,000 donations — ranging anywhere from $25 to $5,000.
“Thank you everyone for your continued donations,” a message on the site read. “What started off as an attempt to put together $10,000 has exploded to over 10x that in less than a day.”
“It’s almost overwhelming to see,” the message added. “The amount currently raised seems almost life changing, but unfortunately the only life changing part of this story is life that was lost. Every penny counts for the Diller family at this point, please keep spreading the word. Thank you.”
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy raises $1.5M for family of slain cop Jonathan Diller https://t.co/cF2EkZlvPt pic.twitter.com/mDNVQkeEZA
— New York Post (@nypost) March 28, 2024
Barstool’s Sports founder Dave Portnoy also stepped in to raise money for Diller’s family after raising $1.5 million, as of this publication.
On Wednesday, Portnoy went viral when he made a plea for donations in a video on X about Diller and said, “I’m sure everybody has seen the story. Tragic. The New York City cop, Jonathan Diller, who was murdered.”
“Routine traffic stop, pulled over two guys, a million priors, been in and out of jail a million times and they just open fire on him, basically,” Portnoy said. “Tragic. Leaves behind a one-year-old child, his wife. We put T-shirts on sale. We’ve raised about $240,000 directly for the family.”
“Every penny that we make goes to the family,” he added, as he promised to match that total. “I know money doesn’t cure this. Nothing can cure this, but it’s the least we can do and Barstool, myself, we’ve got a long history supporting the cops, supporting the boys in blue, supporting first responders.”
“You know, it’s tragic,” the media personality continued. “These guys go out, risk their lives. … It’s just awful, so whatever we can do to support it, we will.”
In a follow-up post on Thursday, Portnoy wrote on X, “Thanks to everybody who donated. We raised [$750,000]. With the matching of the funds that brings the total to $1.5 million that will go directly to the family.”
Diller, a husband and father to a 1-year-old, tragically died Monday after he was shot by a career criminal during a traffic stop in Queens, according to law enforcement.
A 34-year-old man named Guy Rivera was sitting in the passenger seat of the vehicle during the traffic stop. As police attempted to get Rivera to vacate the car, he allegedly pulled out a handgun and shot Diller in the stomach, the New York Post reported.
Witness Deon Peters told the Post that he saw Diller fall to the ground after being shot, yelling, “I’m hit, I’m hit!”
Zach Jewell contributed to this piece.