A former NYPD sergeant was hauled away in handcuffs Thursday after a Bronx decide slapped him with as much as 9 years behind bars for killing a fleeing drug suspect by throwing a cooler at him — with cops calling the sentence one of many “darkest days within the historical past of our career.”
Erik Duran, 38, realized his destiny after being discovered responsible of manslaughter in February for inflicting the Aug. 23, 2023, dying of Eric Duprey — turning into the primary NYPD officer convicted of killing somebody whereas on obligation in a decade.
Decide Man Mitchell sentenced Duprey to a minimum of three years in state jail, and as much as 9, inside a packed Bronx courtroom stuffed with cops on one facet of the gallery and a mixture of Duprey’s kinfolk and activists on the opposite facet.
“At this time might be ceaselessly remembered as one of many darkest days within the historical past of our career,” Sergeants Benevolent Affiliation president Vincent Vallelong mentioned in an announcement.
“It wasn’t solely Sgt. Duran, a fantastic cop, who was on trial. Each legislation enforcement officer who makes a split-second determination within the efficiency of their duties to guard the general public, was additionally on trial. And this sentencing, which has now despatched a really chilling message to each cop within the nation — that the system that we’ve sworn to uphold can single-handedly destroy your profession and your life for doing precisely what you’re educated to do,” he mentioned.
“Shifting ahead, the SBA will do all that we will to help Sgt. Duran and his household all through his attraction and we won’t cease till justice is served,” Vallelong added in regards to the married dad of two daughters.
The uncommon responsible verdict for an on-duty cop got here after proof revealed Duran chucking the complete Igloo cooler at Duprey, who was driving his motorcycle on a Kingsbridge Heights sidewalk after promoting $20 value of cocaine to an undercover officer.
Duran took the stand in his personal protection in the course of the three-week Bronx Supreme Courtroom trial and claimed he threw the cooler to guard his fellow officers, towards whom he mentioned Duprey was zooming on his scooter.
“I believed he was going to kill my guys,” Duran testified.
However prosecutors argued that Duran selected to throw the cooler at Duprey to cease him from fleeing and avoiding arrest.
After being struck within the arm by the cooler, Duprey crashed right into a tree and was flung from the bike, cracking his head on the pavement. He died virtually instantly on affect.
Duran opted for a bench trial, determined by a decide quite than a Bronx jury.
Mitchell in the end discovered him responsible of second-degree manslaughter, ruling that Duran’s use of “lethal pressure” was not justified.
The decide had a variety of sentencing choices, from sending Duran to jail for as much as 15 years to giving him a no-jail sentence.
Greater than 11,000 cops throughout the US had signed a petition, organized by the NYPD’s Sergeants Benevolent Affiliation, urging the decide to maintain Duran out of jail.
Duran was fired from the NYPD because of the responsible verdict.
He was the primary NYPD officer to go on trial for killing somebody on obligation since a 2015 legislation went on the books requiring the state Legal professional Common’s Workplace to probe deaths by the hands of police.
The final officer convicted for an on-duty killing earlier than him was Peter Liang, who in 2016 was discovered responsible of manslaughter for fatally capturing unarmed Akai Gurley in a darkened public housing stairwell.
Liang was sentenced to 5 years of probation and 800 hours of neighborhood service.
