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In New York City, a former police sergeant faced sentencing on Thursday, receiving a prison term ranging from three to nine years. This verdict follows his involvement in a tragic incident where he threw a picnic cooler filled with ice and drinks at a suspect who was fleeing on a motorized scooter. The suspect, 30-year-old Eric Duprey, crashed and subsequently died as a result.
The ex-officer, Erik Duran, aged 38, was found guilty of manslaughter for Duprey’s death, which occurred in 2023. Duran defended his actions by stating he aimed to protect fellow officers from the oncoming scooter. His sentencing marks a notable moment, as he is the first former NYPD officer in at least two decades to receive a prison sentence for a fatality occurring while on duty.
Addressing the Bronx court, Duran expressed his remorse: “I took this job to save lives. I felt terrible once I saw Eric Duprey crash.” He insisted that he did everything possible to help Duprey after the accident and never intended for such a tragic outcome.
In a heartfelt moment, Duran offered an apology to Duprey’s family, speaking in Spanish while a court interpreter translated his words. Duprey’s mother, Gretchen Soto, was visibly emotional, shedding tears during the proceedings. Earlier, she conveyed her profound grief to the court, saying, “There are no words to express what I feel.”
Duprey’s mother, Gretchen Soto, wept as Duran spoke. Earlier, she told the court: “There are no words to express what I feel.”
Judge Guy Mitchell said he did not accept the ex-sergeant’s defense that his actions were justified, concluding that Duran hurled the cooler because he “was upset that Mr. Duprey was getting away.” If there was no cooler, the judge said, Duprey “would have driven by” Duran and “could’ve been captured another day.”
Duran was immediately taken into custody after sentencing. His lawyer, Arthur Aidala, said he will ask a court to free Duran on bail while he appeals.
“Nobody’s above the law,” a woman shouted in a courthouse hallway after the sentence was announced.
Afterward, Soto and Duprey’s partner, Pearl Velez, said they did not accept Duran’s apology.
“How you gonna say sorry now?” Velez said.
Duran’s union, the Sergeants Benevolent Association, said thousands of officers signed an online petition calling for him to be spared prison.
“Today will forever be the darkest day of our profession,” union president Vincent Vallelong said. Duran’s prison sentence, he said, “puts in the back of a police officer’s mind that they can lose their freedom” for making a split-second decision.
Officers in NYPD jackets packed the courtroom gallery, while a couple dozen protesters outside demanded justice for Duprey.
Duran’s sentence, less than the maximum of five to 15 years, matched what prosecutors with state Attorney General Letitia James’ office had sought. Prosecutor Joseph Bianco said the ex-sergeant recklessly caused Duprey’s death and attempted to cover up his actions.
Defense lawyer Andrew Quinn argued for no prison time, calling Duprey’s death the “unintended and tragic consequences” of a “reckless decision” Duran made in a span of 2.5 seconds.
Duran grew up in the Bronx and led a “model, exemplary life” prior to Duprey’s death. A married father of three, he joined the NYPD because he wanted to make the borough “cleaner and safer for the kids who came after him,” Quinn said.
“He is now the cooler cop,” Quinn said.
Duran was part of a narcotics policing unit that conducted a “buy-and-bust” operation in the Bronx on Aug. 23, 2023. Police said Duprey sold drugs to an undercover officer, then tried to flee on a scooter.
Surveillance video showed Duprey driving the motorized scooter on a sidewalk toward a group of people. As he approached, the then-sergeant — who wasn’t in uniform — picked up a bystander’s cooler and threw it.
The container struck Duprey, who lost control of the scooter, slammed into a tree and crashed onto the pavement. Duprey was not wearing a helmet. He sustained fatal head injuries and died almost instantly, according to prosecutors.
They argued Duran had enough time to warn others to move, but instead hurled the cooler because he was angry.
Duran, however, testified at his trial that he made a quick decision to keep other officers safe from the scooter speeding toward them.
“He was gonna crash into us,” Duran said then, adding “all I had time for was to try again to stop or to try to get him to change directions.”
Duran opted to have Judge Mitchell, not a jury, decide the case.
Duran worked for the NYPD for 13 years before the crash, which spurred his suspension. He was fired after his conviction in February.
Duprey was a delivery driver and had three young children. Soto, who said she was on a video call with him right before he died, has disputed the police claims that he sold drugs and fled from officers.
She told the judge Thursday her son “is not just a name, not just one more case.”
“It is an unjust incident,” Soto said through a Spanish interpreter. “As a mother, I have to miss him now every day.”
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