NY Assembly Republicans demand Dems get tough on crime, bash Carl Heastie’s stance on penalties

Republicans in the New York state Assembly blasted soft-on-crime Democrats Wednesday, demanding they pass a package of bills to keep career criminals behind bars in the wake of hero NYPD cop Jonathan Diller’s slaying last week.

The GOP lawmakers directed part of their ire at Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, who has largely rejected criminal justice changes, such as boosting penalties for thugs who assault retail workers, as part of the must-pass state budget this year.

“Unlike what Speaker Heastie indicates, and I have all respect for him, but sometimes you need to be punitive. You need to have penalties,” Assemblyman Mike Reilly (R-Staten Island), a former NYPD Lieutenant, said.

“It’s time that we actually need government action to do the things that we have to do,” he continued.

The sweeping set of bills by the Assembly minority are centered around, 34-year-old Guy Rivera, the man charged with murdering Diller, a 31-year-old married dad of one and a 3-year veteran of the NYPD, during a traffic stop in Queens March 25.

Rivera had been arrested 21 times, including on robbery, felony assault and drug charges. He had just completed parole last year after being released from prison in 2021 where he spent five years on a drug conviction.

The GOP policy proposals include: reinstating the death penalty for cop killers; automatically remanding people charged with possessing an illegal firearm; making assaulting a police officer a hate crime; making all gun crimes bail eligible and increasing penalties for murder charges.

“Can we not agree that an individual, like this individual in this murder Officer Diller with 21 prior arrests who had gotten picked up for a weapons charge, can we not agree that that individual is in danger to our communities?” Assemblyman Ed Ra (R-Nassau) said.

State Senator Alexis Weik (R-Suffolk) placed the blame squarely at Heastie’s feet.

“Speaker Heastie clearly stated last week that a plan to impose tougher penalties on criminals who attack retail workers won’t work because raising penalties is not a deterrent on crime, his words. Just days after New York City police officer Jonathan Diller was murdered,” Weik said.

“The one-party rule in this state does not want penalties for criminal behavior. How many more of our loved ones die?”

Heastie defended his stance that increased penalties aren’t a deterrent to crime speaking to reporters Wednesday.

“I simply answered a question that was asked to me. I think we are going to come up with different ideas on how to deal with retail theft. I still say when people are assaulted there’s a current law,” Heastie said.

Diller was posthumously promoted to detective.