NYPD officer charged with manslaughter for throwing cooler that led to death of deliveryman in Bronx
A memorial for Eric Duprey in the Bronx. An undercover NYPD sergeant who threw a cooler last August at a fleeing Duprey, who fell from a scooter and died, faces a manslaughter charge. Credit: AP/Jake Offenhartz
An undercover NYPD sergeant who threw a cooler that led to a crash that killed a deliveryman in the Bronx last August was indicted on manslaughter charges on Tuesday, State Attorney General Letitia James said.
Sgt. Erik Duran, 36, of Putnam County, was charged with second-degree manslaughter, first- and second-degree assault, and criminally negligent homicide in the death of Eric Duprey, 30, of the Bronx, according to the indictment.
He was arraigned Tuesday before State Supreme Court Justice George Villegas, who set Duran's bail at $150,000. He faces up to 25 years in prison.
On Aug. 23 at about 5 p.m., Duran, an undercover member of the NYPD Narcotics Borough Bronx Tactical Response Unit, along with his team, arrived on Aqueduct Avenue between West 190th and 192nd streets to conduct their fourth “buy-and-bust” operation, or undercover drug purchase, of the day.
During the operation, tactical team members encountered Duprey and attempted to arrest him, at which point he got on a motorized scooter to flee, the indictment said.
As Duprey rode the scooter toward West 190th Street, Duran grabbed a cooler off a nearby table and threw it at Duprey, striking him in the head and causing him to lose control of the scooter, prosecutors said.
Duprey then sideswiped a tree before he was thrown from the scooter and hit his head on the curb, landing under a parked vehicle. The father of three was pronounced dead at the scene, the indictment said.
Duran was suspended and later placed on modified duty following the incident.
“Mr. Duprey was a career drug dealer who was dealing drugs in a park populated by children,” said John D’Alessandro, Duran's White Plains-based defense attorney. “When the police attempted to arrest him, he drove a motorcycle at 40 mph on a crowded sidewalk, putting countless citizens and police officers in grave danger. Sgt. Duran made a split second decision to prevent serious injury or death to those citizens and officers. This indictment sends a clear message to society and every law enforcement officer in this state: In today’s New York, the streets belong to the criminals.”
Duran joined the NYPD in 2010 and became a sergeant in 2018, according to his NYPD profile.
In a statement, Vincent Vallelong, president of the NYPD's Sergeants Benevolent Association, blamed the case on “overzealous prosecutors with a political agenda.”
“Sgt. Duran made a split-second decision that was predicated solely on his concern for the safety of others,” Vallelong said. “Now he has become the latest victim of a legal system that treats honest hard-working cops as criminals and criminals as victims.”
State law requires the attorney general's office to investigate all incidents where a police officer's actions lead to the death of a civilian.
Duran is due back in court on April 18.
An undercover NYPD sergeant who threw a cooler that led to a crash that killed a deliveryman in the Bronx last August was indicted on manslaughter charges on Tuesday, State Attorney General Letitia James said.
Sgt. Erik Duran, 36, of Putnam County, was charged with second-degree manslaughter, first- and second-degree assault, and criminally negligent homicide in the death of Eric Duprey, 30, of the Bronx, according to the indictment.
He was arraigned Tuesday before State Supreme Court Justice George Villegas, who set Duran's bail at $150,000. He faces up to 25 years in prison.
On Aug. 23 at about 5 p.m., Duran, an undercover member of the NYPD Narcotics Borough Bronx Tactical Response Unit, along with his team, arrived on Aqueduct Avenue between West 190th and 192nd streets to conduct their fourth “buy-and-bust” operation, or undercover drug purchase, of the day.
During the operation, tactical team members encountered Duprey and attempted to arrest him, at which point he got on a motorized scooter to flee, the indictment said.
As Duprey rode the scooter toward West 190th Street, Duran grabbed a cooler off a nearby table and threw it at Duprey, striking him in the head and causing him to lose control of the scooter, prosecutors said.
Duprey then sideswiped a tree before he was thrown from the scooter and hit his head on the curb, landing under a parked vehicle. The father of three was pronounced dead at the scene, the indictment said.
Duran was suspended and later placed on modified duty following the incident.
“Mr. Duprey was a career drug dealer who was dealing drugs in a park populated by children,” said John D’Alessandro, Duran's White Plains-based defense attorney. “When the police attempted to arrest him, he drove a motorcycle at 40 mph on a crowded sidewalk, putting countless citizens and police officers in grave danger. Sgt. Duran made a split second decision to prevent serious injury or death to those citizens and officers. This indictment sends a clear message to society and every law enforcement officer in this state: In today’s New York, the streets belong to the criminals.”
Duran joined the NYPD in 2010 and became a sergeant in 2018, according to his NYPD profile.
In a statement, Vincent Vallelong, president of the NYPD's Sergeants Benevolent Association, blamed the case on “overzealous prosecutors with a political agenda.”
“Sgt. Duran made a split-second decision that was predicated solely on his concern for the safety of others,” Vallelong said. “Now he has become the latest victim of a legal system that treats honest hard-working cops as criminals and criminals as victims.”
State law requires the attorney general's office to investigate all incidents where a police officer's actions lead to the death of a civilian.
Duran is due back in court on April 18.
Thanksgiving travel, weather outlook ... Addressing kids' mental health ... Judge blocks health plan switch ... Visit LI turkey farm
Thanksgiving travel, weather outlook ... Addressing kids' mental health ... Judge blocks health plan switch ... Visit LI turkey farm
