A former New York City cop will spend at least three years in prison for killing a man after hurling a cooler at him while he was fleeing arrest on a motorbike.
In February, 38-year-old Erik Duran was convicted of second-degree manslaughter in connection with the killing of 30-year-old Eric Duprey in 2023.
According to The New York Times, Duran was the lead on an undercover operation in a Bronx neighborhood on Aug. 23, 2023. That day, officers reported seeing Duprey hand an undercover cop $20 worth of cocaine.
When Duprey jumped on a motorbike to flee the scene, Duran threw a red Igloo filled with soda, juice, water and ice at him.
The cooler struck Duprey, causing him to lose control of his scooter and crash into a tree. He died of his injuries.
Duran maintained that he was only trying to protect his fellow officers at the scene after Duprey drove his scooter toward them in an attempt to escape.
“I took this job to save lives. I felt terrible once I saw Eric Duprey crash,” the former police sergeant said in court, per CNN. “I never wanted this to happen.”
Duran’s attorneys touted his 15-year career with the NYPD and told the court that Duran, a Bronx native, became a cop to protect vulnerable communities. They argued that the ex-cop shouldn’t be incarcerated for a split-second decision, even though it was reckless.
Several officers agreed.
“When you have to sit there, and you have to make decisions in a split second time, what’s going to happen when every single police officer turns around and says, well, maybe I shouldn’t make that decision, maybe I shouldn’t stop that guy,” said Vincent Vallelong with the Sergeants Benevolent Association.
Duran addressed Duprey’s family in Spanish in court.
“I regret everything that happened. I’m sorry for the loss of your child. I never wanted this to happen,” he said. “I’m asking for the chance to be for my family, for my kids.”
Duprey’s mother, Gretchen Soto, also provided a statement during the sentencing.
“He was well loved,” Soto said in Spanish. “It is an unjust incident that, as a mother, I have to miss him now every day.”
Soto said that after Duprey moved to New York from Puerto Rico at age 18, he dreamed of becoming a paramedic. Due to his insecurities about his poor English, he gave up on pursuing that career.
Duprey was a father of two young children — a 5-year-old girl and a 3-year-old boy. He had been working as an Uber delivery driver before his death.
Roughly 11,000 officers signed a petition urging the judge presiding over the case to let Duran walk free, according to WABC. Prosecutors recommended between three and nine years behind bars. Local activists and community members hoped Duran would get the maximum sentence — 15 years.
Judge Guy Mitchell sentenced Duran to three to nine years in prison. Mitchell stated that Duran “was upset the suspect was getting away” and thought “the only way to stop him was to throw the cooler,” but noted that police could have taken a different course of action to make the arrest.
“Suspects sometimes get away and can be captured later. He could have been caught on a different day,” the judge said. “I believe the sentence will deter other officers when they arrest suspects.”
Some community members stated they were satisfied with the sentence, given the officers’ petition and the fact that the judge could have opted for no jail time.
“It is a very seldom occurrence that justice prevails when a cop kills a Black and Brown person, but today in the Bronx, we got it right,” said Hawk Newsome with Black Lives Matter Greater NY.
