What Did Former NYPD Sergeant Erik Duran Do?

Former police Sgt. Erik Duran of the NYPD was sentenced to three to nine years in prison on April 9, 2026. According to the Associated Press, Duran is the first ex-NYPD police officer to be sentenced to prison for an on-duty death in 20 years.

ABC7 Chicago reports that 11,000 officers signed a petition requesting that Duran receive no jail time, but community activists campaigned for at least a 15-year sentence for the ex-police sergeant. So, what did Duran do?

Duran killed 30-year-old Eric Duprey back in 2023 in the Bronx, N.Y. The former cop threw a large picnic cooler that was full of ice and beverages at Eric while he was on his scooter, which caused him to crash, and he died from his injuries.

Eric Duprey, 30, was killed in 2023 after Duran threw a picnic cooler at him as Duprey "fled" on a scooter in the Melrose section of the Bronx. Eric crashed and died from his injuries. Duran claimed that Eric was a suspect in a “buy-and-bust” narcotics operation on Aug. 23, 2023.

The NYPD claimed that Eric sold drugs to an undercover police officer and tried to flee on his scooter. Video of the incident shows Duran hit Eric with the cooler before he crashed into a tree and then the concrete pavement.

Duran defended himself by saying he was protecting his fellow officers and didn't want Eric to get away.

"He was gonna crash into us,” he claimed. "All I had time for was to try again to stop or to try to get him to change directions.”

The ex-police officer opted for a judge over a jury trial, and Judge Guy Mitchell said that Duran's defense wasn't justified, and he threw the cooler because he “was upset that Mr. Duprey was getting away.”

The judge added that if there was no cooler, Eric “would have driven by” the ex-cop, and he could have "been captured another day.”

“I took this job to save lives. I felt terrible once I saw Eric Duprey crash,” Duran claimed. "I regret everything that happened; I'm sorry for the loss of your child. I never wanted this to happen. I'm asking for the chance to be for my family, for my kids."

Eric's family did not believe Duran's apology was sincere. His mother, Gretchen Soto, said, "There are no words to express what I feel," as she cried. Eric's partner, Pearl Velez, said the family did not accept the former cop's apology. “How you gonna say sorry now?” Eric has three children, and his mother said she was on the phone with him just before his death and denied that he sold drugs. Eric reportedly worked as a delivery driver.

“It is an unjust incident,” said Gretchen of her son's death. ”As a mother, I have to miss him now every day.”

Eric died almost instantly after the crash, and Duran was convicted of second-degree manslaughter.