An undercover NYPD sergeant was charged Tuesday with second-degree manslaughter in the August death of a scooter-riding drug suspect who crashed after the cop threw a cooler at him.
Sgt. Erik Duran, 36, was arraigned in Bronx Supreme Court on that charge — which carries a potential maximum sentence of 25 years in prison — as well as assault in the first and second degrees and criminally negligent homicide for the death of Eric Duprey, 30, on Aug. 23, 2023, in Kingsbridge Heights.
Duran was conducting a buy-and-bust operation on Aqueduct Avenue near West 190th Street around 5 p.m. when Duprey took off on a motorized scooter, said New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office, which is handling the prosecution.
As Duprey made his escape, Duran grabbed someone’s cooler off a nearby table and threw it at the fleeing suspect, hitting him in the head and throwing him off balance, James’ office said in a statement.
Duprey sideswiped a tree before he was hurled from the scooter and banged his head on the curb, ultimately landing under a parked vehicle, the attorney general said.
Surveillance video obtained by The Post showed the moment the white cooler struck Duprey, who was shown on his scooter, veering from the sidewalk into the street before tumbling from his ride as multiple bystanders surrounded him.
Duprey died there of “blunt force injuries of the head,” authorities said at the time.
He had sold crack cocaine to the sergeant before fleeing on his scooter, police said.
Duran was suspended and later placed on modified duty following the incident, according to the AG.
He was released on a $150,000 bond, posted for him by prominent Big Apple bail bondsman Ira Judelson, following his court appearance Tuesday and is due back before a judge on April 18.
The Sergeants’ Benevolent Association union blasted James for bringing the charges against Duran.
“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,” SBA president Vincent Vallelong said in a statement.
“Sgt. Duran made a split-second decision that was predicated solely on his concern for the safety of others. Now he has become the latest victim of a legal system that treats honest hard-working cops as criminals and criminals as victims,” Vallelong added.
Vallelong claimed Duprey dangerously drove 40 mph down the sidewalk, endangering pedestrians and children, and would have crashed into cops standing there had Duran not stopped him.
Without Duran’s efforts, Duprey would have “caused serious injuries or death to numerous people,” according to the SBA.
Duprey had at least two previous arrests, including an open felony assault case in the Bronx from June 2022 for allegedly throwing a two-liter bottle of soda through a driver’s window, police sources previously said.
Duran faced death threats in the aftermath of the incident, and the NYPD was said to be installing cameras at the sergeant’s Putnam County home and stationing officers there in September, the sources said.
Duran’s attorney, Andrew Quinn, previously told The Post the case is anything but open and shut.
“There is much more to this situation than the brief, 10-second video clip shows,” Quinn told The Post.
“What is indisputably clear is that the deceased, who was intent on evading arrest for selling drugs to an undercover officer, was speeding on a motorbike in an incredibly dangerous manner down a crowded sidewalk, jeopardizing the life and safety of everyone there.”
“Once a full and complete investigation is conducted, we are fully confident that Sgt. Duran will be exonerated of any misconduct or wrongdoing.”
