Mayor Eric Adams offered his condolences to the family of a slain officer during his weekly briefing with reporters on Tuesday.

“Jonathan [Diller] is just a symbol of those of you who have children. Imagine just the pain of going through something as unnatural. Parents should never have to bury their child,” Adams said.

Adams used the killing of Officer Jonathan Diller to point to the violent acts being committed by repeat offenders.

What You Need To Know

  • Mayor Eric Adams used a series of high profile violent crimes in the city Monday night to call for changes in local laws

  • Adams wants the changes to focus on three areas: recidivism, mental health and random acts of violence

  • Adams said the alleged shooter of an officer and the man who shoved a straphanger are two incidents that highlight growing safety issues in the city

The man alleged to have shot and killed Diller had dozens of prior arrests.

“The person who shot the officer did not have the right to have the gun, did not have the right to shoot anyone, and that is what my focus is and he’s a recidivist,” the mayor said.

After high-profile violent incidents on Monday, including a man who shoved a straphanger in front of a 4 train, the mayor has highlighted the need to combat a handful of repeat offenders.

“These are bad people who are doing bad things to good people. It’s the good guys against the bad guys,” he said.  

Adams also used the shooting incident to illustrate public safety challenges while calling on changes to local laws.

“You do an analysis of all these reports that you’re doing and you’re going to keep coming up with the same three items: severe mental health, random acts of violence [and] recidivism. Over and over again, and what’s interesting is our laws and policies are not going after those three issues,” he said.

Adams said that some changes to the state’s bail laws have added to the challenges of tackling recidivism in the city.  

“We’ve always had a problem with recidivism with a small number of people,” he said. “When you add that with the issues around discovery, with many of these cases are not being prosecuted. There really should be some deep research on how we’ve overwhelmed our district attorney’s offices.”

City Hall is also currently lobbying Albany lawmakers to make changes to Kendra’s Law. That would make it easier to get court-ordered treatment for those with severe mental illness.

“Some of them are calm, but when they’re off their medication, you’re dealing with a totally different individual,” Adams said.

Adams said the fatal subway pushing in Harlem on Monday night showed the need for more resources toward helping New Yorkers who are struggling.

“Overwhelming number of New Yorkers go to and from their place safe. But those random acts of violence are chilling,” Adams said.  

Changes to the penal code and mental health law are not currently priorities for Albany lawmakers who are in the midst of budget negotiations.