Ex-NYPD Sergeant Sentenced to 3-9 Years for Fatal Cooler Throw

A former New York City police sergeant was sentenced Thursday to three to nine years in prison for throwing a picnic cooler at a fleeing suspect during a drug operation, causing the man to crash his motorized scooter and die.

Erik Duran, 38, received the sentence from Bronx Supreme Court Justice Guy Mitchell for his role in the August 23, 2023, death of 30-year-old Eric Duprey. Duran, who had served 13 years with the New York Police Department before his dismissal, was convicted of second-degree manslaughter in February after a bench trial. Prosecutors from state Attorney General Letitia James's office argued that Duran acted recklessly while on duty, hurling the cooler out of anger as Duprey escaped, rather than issuing a warning to bystanders.

The incident occurred during a buy-and-bust narcotics operation in the Bronx. According to police accounts, Duprey sold drugs to an undercover officer and fled on a motorized scooter, driving along a sidewalk toward a group of people that included officers. Surveillance video captured Duran, who was in plain clothes, picking up a bystander's cooler filled with ice, water and sodas and throwing it at Duprey. The cooler struck him, causing...