An NYPD sergeant who killed a fleeing suspect by hurling a cooler that struck the man as he rode past on a scooter was convicted of manslaughter on Friday, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced.
Bronx Justice Guy Mitchell found Sgt. Erik Duran guilty at a bench trial. He is the first NYPD officer to be taken to trial for killing a suspect since Hugh Barry was indicted for killing Deborah Danner in 2016.
The felony conviction is expected to result in Duran’s termination from the force. The NYPD did not immediately confirm his firing.
Prosecutors said Eric Duprey, 30, had eluded several officers before Duran used both hands to grab the cooler and hurl it at him. Duprey, who wasn’t wearing a helmet, lost control, sideswiped a tree and was thrown off the scooter, officials said. He struck his head on the curb and landed under a parked vehicle
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Prosecutors suggested Duran had more time to think than he let on because he chose to pick up a heavy cooler with both hands instead of warning the other cops to get out of the way.
“It wasn’t heavy,” Duran said.
Duran testified in his own defense Monday when he told Justice Mitchell that he was trying to protect other police officers when he hurled the red-and-white cooler filled with beverages and ice at Duprey, a drug suspect, during a buy-and-bust operation in Kingsbridge Heights.
Duran said he quickly shifted from apprehension mode to trying to save a life.
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“I was in shock. I was upset and I was just hoping that I was wrong about what I saw, his injuries,” Duran said. “I was hoping that somebody at some point would say, you know, he’s OK, or for the ambulance to get there. I was just hoping that I was wrong.”
Cops were running a buy-and-bust operation at Aqueduct Ave. near W. 192nd St. when they nabbed the wrong guy, and Duprey took off, officials said.
Cops said Duprey, a delivery driver, was buying drugs. His family said he fled the scene because his scooter was not registered.
