NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – The NYPD sergeant accused of throwing a cooler at a man fleeing a Bronx drug bust, allegedly leading to his death in a scooter crash, was arrested on Tuesday, according to police and prosecutors.
Sgt. Erik Duran was charged with manslaughter in the second degree, assault in the first and second degrees, and criminally negligent homicide in connection to the death of Eric Duprey during an altercation in Kingsbridge Heights on the evening of Aug. 23.
The indictment was announced by state Attorney General Letitia James following a months-long investigation, which is standard protocol for deaths involving police officers.
Duran pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Tuesday in Bronx Supreme Court and made bail, which was set at $150,000. Dozens of police officers came to court in his support.
Sergeants Benevolent Association President Vincent Vallelong slammed the decision to indict Duran, saying 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."
Duprey—a 30-year-old father of three who family said worked as a delivery driver—crashed a scooter as he fled from plainclothes narcotics officers during a "buy-and-bust" sting at West 190th Street and Aqueduct Avenue, police said.
Cops were trying to apprehend the suspected drug dealer when he hopped on the scooter. Duran allegedly threw a cooler at Duprey in an attempt to stop him, striking him in the head and causing him to lose control of the scooter. Duprey sideswiped a tree before he was thrown from the scooter and hit his head on the curb, landing under a parked vehicle, according to the attorney general's office. He died at the scene.
His death was attributed to "blunt force injuries of the head" and deemed a homicide.
Surveillance video showed Duprey driving the motorcycle on a sidewalk toward a group of people, including the sergeant, who was not in uniform. As he approached, the video shows Duran pick up the red picnic cooler and throw it. Duprey is struck, loses control, and is tossed toward a tree as the motorcycle veers into the street. The bike smashes into a metal barricade before coming to rest against a parked car.
Police said Duprey tried to flee on a friend's scooter after he was caught selling drugs to an undercover police officer. The sergeant was standing on the sidewalk as part of the drug operation carried out by the Bronx Narcotics Unit. Police declined to specify what drugs Duprey was accused of selling.
Duprey's mother, Gretchen Soto, told the Associated Press in Spanish last summer,"He wasn't fleeing. He wasn't fleeing. He was just on the motorcycle talking to me on the video chat. And he passed by that place when all of a sudden the call cut out."
Duran, a 13-year veteran of the department, joined the Bronx Narcotics Unit in September 2022. He has been recognized by the department dozens of times for what it deems excellent and meritorious police service, according to a police personnel database.
Duran's disciplinary record includes a substantiated complaint last year for abusing his authority during a stop, according to the city's Civilian Complaint Review Board.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
