Recidivism, mental health converge in NYPD officer’s death, fatal subway push: Adams

NEW YORK (PIX11) — The NYPD officer who was shot to death in Queens and the man who was fatally pushed onto a Manhattan subway track are victims of one of New York City’s three major crises — recidivism, according to Mayor Eric Adams.

The city’s other issues are severe mental health illness and random acts of violence, which all contributed to NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller’s death in Far Rockaway and the man who was shoved onto the tracks at the 125th Street-Lexington Avenue subway station in East Harlem Monday night.

“We have a real recidivist problem,” Adams said at a press briefing Tuesday.

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Diller was fatally shot in the stomach after approaching two men in an illegally parked car near Mott Avenue and Smith Place at around 6 p.m., according to the NYPD. Police said driver Lindy Jones, 41, and passenger Guy Rivera, 34, were in the gray SUV when Diller told Rivera to get out, police said. Rivera then allegedly pulled out a gun and shot the 31-year-old officer, cops said.

The driver has more than 20 priors, including a gun charge from April 2023, and his accomplice has just as many prior arrests, according to Adams.

“It’s the same people over and over again,” the mayor said.

Carlton McPherson, 24, was charged with murder for allegedly shoving a 54-year-old man onto the tracks as a northbound No. 4 train approached the East Harlem station at around 7 p.m., police said. The incident happened hours after authorities announced 800 cops were going to flood subway stations to crack down on fare evaders. There were six cops in the station when the victim was killed, Adams said.

McPherson was suffering from several mental health issues, including violence, the mayor said. Police said the suspect had multiple prior arrests, including assault, robbery, and fare evasion. He was released without bail in connection to an Oct. 31, 2023 arrest in Brooklyn, according to court records.

“When you combine recidivism with severe mental health issues …and then you add the random acts of violence to that, all of them played out last night,” Adams said.

The mayor said the city’s laws and policies don’t address those issues.

Mira Wassef is a digital reporter who has covered news and sports in the New York City area for more than a decade. She joined PIX11 News in 2022. See more of her work here.

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