An NYPD sergeant assigned to a Bronx precinct is facing manslaughter charges for allegedly throwing a cooler at a fleeing suspect, killing him last summer.
According to multiple investigations, Sgt. Erik Duran was working undercover during a sting operation on Aug. 23, and lured Eric Duprey into selling him drugs near Aqueduct Avenue and W. 190th Street in Kingsbridge Heights.
Duran appeared in Bronx Supreme Court Tuesday on an indictment brought by state Attorney General Letitia James charging him with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.
According to the AG’s office, Duran was ordered to be held on $150,000 bond/cash bail, and ordered back to court on April 18. He faces a maximum sentence of 25 years behind bars if convicted.
After the illicit sale was complete in the sting operation, prosecutors said, Duran informed Duprey that he was a law enforcement officer, and attempted to arrest the alleged drug dealer.
Duprey, however, attempted to escape custody, and hopped on his moped in a frantic getaway.
The police sergeant then threw a plastic cooler at Duprey — striking him in the head, and knocking him off the scooter. Duprey, a 30-year-old father of two children, hit his head on the ground, and died at the scene from that injury.
After the incident, the NYPD launched an investigation into Duran’s actions, and the city medical examiner classified the death as a homicide.
Months then went by with no final decision from authorities as the sergeant went on unpaid leave, until the state’s chief prosecutor brought charges against Duran, with his indictment formalized on Tuesday.
The defendant is being charged with manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, and assault.
In announcing the indictment on social media, Attorney General James laid out the basic facts of the case, and added that her “prayers are with Eric Duprey’s family.”
Last year, Mayor Eric Adams, a former police officer, criticized Duran, saying “We don’t throw coolers at fleeing suspects.”
Meanwhile, the Sergeants Benevolent Association (SBA) has come to Duran’s defense, with the union’s chief alleging that Duran “made a split-second decision” to protect others, and was the “latest victim of a legal system that treats honest hard-working cops as criminals and criminals as victims.”
“The demonization of Sgt. Duran and the criminalization of his actions once again proves the old adage that overzealous prosecutors with a political agenda can indict a ham sandwich if inclined to do so,” added SBA President Vincent Vallelong.
