THE BRONX, N.Y. (PIX11) – Opening up for the first time since the guilty verdict, Pearl Velez said her children still ask for their father. Eric Duprey was killed two years ago by an NYPD sergeant who hurled a plastic picnic cooler at the father.
“It was summertime, everybody outside, picnic, family time,” Velez said of Aug. 23, 2023. Five minutes after leaving a family picnic, she said, their lives changed forever. “They ask, ‘Where’s my dad? I miss daddy. I need to talk to daddy.’”
On Friday, Bronx Supreme Court Judge Guy Mitchell found Sgt. Erik Duran was guilty of second-degree manslaughter in the death of Duprey following a four-week bench trial.
“The fact that the defendant is a police officer has no bearing,” Mitchell said before delivering the verdict. “He’s a person and will be treated as any other defendant.”
Duran, 38, assigned to a narcotics unit, was seen on surveillance video grabbing a red picnic cooler filled with ice, water, and soda and hurling it at Duprey, who was fleeing from police on a moped.
The cooler struck Duprey, who was not wearing a helmet. He lost control, crashed into a tree, and landed beneath a parked car. Prosecutors said he suffered fatal head injuries and died almost instantly.
Duran testified that he had only seconds to react and was trying to protect fellow officers as Duprey sped toward them.
“He was gonna crash into us,” Duran said in court. “I didn’t have time. All I had time for was to try again to stop or to try to get him to change directions.”
Make PIX11 your preferred news source on Google: Here’s how
Defense attorneys argued Duprey was driving about 40 mph on the sidewalk and “placing lives of everyone at risk, particularly Sgt. Duran,” calling the officer’s actions a split-second decision to save lives.
Prosecutors countered that Duprey posed no threat and that Duran acted recklessly and out of frustration, choosing to throw the cooler rather than warn others to move.
The police sergeants’ union criticized the decision, calling it a “miscarriage of justice.”
“Outrageous verdicts, such as this one, send a terrible message to hard-working cops everywhere,” said Vincent Vallelong, president of the Sergeants Benevolent Association. He said the union’s fight for Duran’s “freedom and his total exoneration is far from over.”
The NYPD confirmed he was dismissed following the conviction, as required by state law. He faces up to 15 years in prison at sentencing, scheduled for April.
Black Lives Matter activists Hawk and Chivona Newsome, who pushed for charges in the case, said they are now circulating petitions ahead of sentencing.
More: Latest News from Around the Tri-State
“We’re going to raise the people’s awareness and let them know the ‘cooler killer’ should go away for the maximum sentence,” Hawk Newsome said.
His sister said the verdict sends a broader message. “It lets them know they can’t get away with killing Black and brown people. We are not subhuman. We are not second-class citizens.”
Velez said she also has a civil lawsuit pending against the city and hopes the conviction resonates beyond her family.
“They thought they would intimidate me, and they gave me more strength to fight for justice,” she said.
Sentencing is set for April, with a maximum penalty of 15 years in state prison.
This story comprises reporting from The Associated Press.
Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11.