- The cooler knocked the suspect off balance, and he crashed into a tree.
- Police say the man had attempted to sell an undercover officer cocaine.
- A Judge said the officer’s use of deadly force was not justified in this case.
A judge in New York City has sentenced former police sergeant Eric Duran to three to nine years in prison over his actions, which led to the death of Eric Duprey, a fleeing suspect who crashed his motorized scooter in 2023. The sentence came despite thousands of New York police officers signing a petition asking for Duran to avoid prison time.
The incident happened on August 23. Authorities claim the suspect, Eric Duprey, had attempted to sell $20 worth of cocaine to undercover officers in the Bronx as part of a narcotics enforcement effort. As officers moved in to arrest him, he fled on a scooter.
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However, Duprey did not get far, as the New York police sergeant picked up a red cooler filled with drinks and ice and threw it at his head. The impact caused Duprey to lose control of the scooter and crash into a tree, resulting in fatal head injuries.
The 38-year-old officer testified during his trial that he threw the cooler in an effort to protect fellow officers. Prosecutors argued he was trying to stop Duprey from fleeing and said the use of deadly force was not justified.
Duran is now the first New York Police Department officer to be convicted of killing someone while on duty since 2016. The Judge noted that the sentence of three to nine years in prison will serve as a general deterrent for other officers.
An Unjust Killing
“It is an unjust incident,” Duprey’s mother Gretchen Soto said. “As a mother, I have to miss him now every day, and the justice I am asking for is just the normal justice, as any mother would, who was with her child everyday.”
Not everyone supports the sentence, notes the New York Post. According to the president of the Sergeants Benevolent Association, Vincent Vallelong, “Today will be forever remembered as one of the darkest days in the history of our profession.”
“It wasn’t only Sgt. Duran, a great cop, who was on trial,” Vallelong added. “Every law enforcement officer who makes a split-second decision in the performance of their duties to protect the public, was also on trial.”
