Former NYPD officer faces sentencing in cooler throwing death
NEW YORK (AP) — A former New York City police sergeant will be sentenced Thursday to prison for discharging a gun. picnic cooler He hit a fleeing suspect full of drink, then hit him with his motor scooter and died.
Former officer Erik Duran convicted of manslaughter At the death of Eric Duprey in 2023. The former sergeant, who said he tried to protect other officers from the oncoming scooter, faces up to 15 years in prison.
The case mobilized the police on the one hand and accountability activists on the other. Duran’s union, the Sergeant’s Benevolent Association, said thousands of officers had signed an online petition calling for Duran to be spared from prison. Meanwhile, a small group of activists demonstrated outside the Bronx courthouse on Tuesday, pushing for the maximum sentence. Daily News reported.
Duran was part of a narcotics police group that conducted a “take-bust” operation in the Bronx on August 23, 2023. Police said Duprey sold drugs to an undercover cop, then tried to escape on a scooter.
Security camera video shown Duprey rides his motor scooter towards a group of people on the sidewalk. As he approached, the sergeant, who was not in uniform, grabbed a cooler from one of those present and pointed it at him.
The container filled with ice, water and soda hit Duprey. He lost control of the scooter, crashed into a tree and fell onto the pavement.
Duprey, 30, was not wearing a helmet. he continued fatal head injuries He died almost instantly, according to prosecutors in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office.
They argued that Duran had enough time to warn others to move but instead threw the cooler because he was angry.
However, Duran’s testified He said he made a split-second decision to protect other officers from the scooter speeding towards them.
“He was going to hit us,” Duran told the court, adding: “The only time I had was to try to stop again or persuade him to change direction.”
He testified that he immediately tried to help Duprey after seeing the accident and the extent of the man’s injuries.
Duran preferred the judge to decide the case, not the jury. Judge Guy Mitchell found him guilty, saying his status as a police officer had “nothing to do” with the case.
But Sergeants’ Benevolent Association president Vincent Vallelong said the conviction sent a “terrible message to hard-working officers” about the cost of defending themselves and other officers.
Duran was a New York Police Department officer for 13 years before he was suspended from duty after the crash. He was dismissed following his conviction last February.
Duprey worked as a delivery driver and had three young children. His mother said she had a video call with him right before he died. He objected to the police’s allegations He said he was selling drugs and running from the cops.
The Duprey family’s attorney, Jon Roberts, said they are “hopeful the court will provide justice for the loss Eric and the entire family have endured, and hope this will be the beginning of the healing process.”
