It’s tragic deja vu for the kin of late 2011 hero NYPD cop Peter Figoski, who say they feel the pain of slain Officer Jonathan Diller’s family — because their dad’s killer skated on the top murder charge against him, too.
“No family should have to endure this kind of loss — or feel that justice falls short,” said Caroline O’Callaghan, one of Figoski’s four still-heartbroken daughters, to The Post in the wake of the explosive Diller verdict Wednesday.
“Our police officers put their lives on the line every single day to protect others. They deserve better. Their families deserve better,” O’Callaghan said.
O’Callaghan’s father — a decorated 22-year veteran of New York’s Finest — was fatally shot in the face in December 2011 by a remorseless ex-con who was hunting for drugs in a Brooklyn apartment.
The thug who gunned him down, Lamont Pride, jumped out of a broom closet in the basement of a Cypress Hills complex and ambushed Figoski as he was trying to provide backup during the botched drug-den robbery.
Pride, who was 28 at the time, was ultimately convicted of second-degree murder but acquitted on the more serious aggravated-murder charge against him, which would have amounted to life behind bars. He is currently serving a 45-year sentence for the second-degree-slay charge and other raps.
The man who drove the crew of bandits to the botched robbery, 22-year-old Michael Velez, meanwhile ended up being cleared of burglary and murder charges altogether.
That verdict was so outrageous that the judge even apologized to Figoski’s family as his daughters and ex-wife broke down in the courtroom.
In Diller’s case, his killer, Guy Rivera, was stunningly acquitted of first-degree murder in Queens court and instead convicted of a lesser aggravated manslaughter rap in the senseless March 2024 shooting outside a cell-phone store.
A first-degree-murder conviction would have guaranteed Rivera life behind bars without parole.
He is still facing up to 90 years in prison on the manslaughter and other weapons convictions, but Diller’s widow has been described as devastated over his first-degree-murder acquittal, and everyone from NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch to the department’s rank-and-file have publicly raged about it.
O’Callaghan said the Diller verdict only served to dredge up painful memories for her family.
“It is difficult to understand how this resulted in a manslaughter conviction rather than murder, when a life was so clearly and tragically taken,” she said. “Learning that the individual responsible had an extensive criminal history and had recently been released only adds to the pain and frustration.
“This hits especially close to home for our family.
“Our father, NYPD Police Officer Peter Figoski, was killed in the line of duty in 2011, and his case followed a similarly painful path.”
“We stand with and pray for the Diller family, and with all members of the NYPD, during this incredibly difficult time,” she added.
The split verdict involving Diller’s killer — a career criminal who had 21 previous arrests to his name — left some defense lawyers baffled.
Prosecutors said Rivera shot pulled out a concealed handgun and intentionally shot Diller during a routine police stop in Queens.
Rivera’s lawyer argued the gun accidentally discharged as officers pulled the firearm from the perp’s pocket.
“This was Murder 1 on a New York City police officer,” Patrick Hendry, president of the police officers’ union, said outside the courthouse in the wake of the verdict.
“No doubt about it.”
Tisch called the split verdict a “gut punch” to every city cop and said she was deeply disappointed Rivera wasn’t convicted of murder but hoped the judge’s ultimate sentence “will reflect the gravity of his actions.”
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