The Bronx judge who sent an ex-NYPD sergeant to prison Thursday for fatally flinging a picnic cooler at a fleeing drug suspect claimed the punishment would serve as a “general deterrent” for other police officers.

Judge Guy Mitchell justified the sentence of 3-to-9 years behind bars for former Sgt. Erik Duran, 38, by arguing, in part, that the decision would send a message — even as police and legal experts ripped it as “extreme and damaging” for law enforcement.

The judge also rejected Duran’s testimony that throwing the cooler at scooter-riding Eric Duprey, 30, during the August 2023 undercover drug sting had been justified.

Ex-NYPD Sergeant Erik Duran was sentenced to nine years for fatally flinging a picnic cooler a fleeing drug suspect in August 2023. Matthew McDermott for NY Post

“They had enough to investigate and catch him on a different day,” he said of the suspect.

Duran and his legal team, along with thousands of officers, had called on Mitchell not to impose a prison sentence after the judge found the since-fired cop guilty of manslaughter in February.

Mitchell conceded that Duran — who issued an emotional apology to Duprey’s family and pleaded with the judge for mercy at Thursday’s hearing — was “extremely remorseful” and would not find himself in criminal trouble again.

“The distinction is that the deceased will no longer be seen again by his family,” he said from the bench.

Supporters of Duprey, a father of two, were euphoric, with one activist shouting, “No one is above the law!” as the sentence was handed down.

Judge Guy Mitchell claimed that Duran’s sentence is a “general deterrent” to other cops. Tomas E. Gaston for NY Post

The decision by Mitchell, whom Mayor Bill de Blasio appointed in 2015 and Mayor Eric Adams reappointed in 2022, sparked furor from law enforcement. 

“It’s a huge miscarriage of justice,” former NYPD commissioner Ray Kelly told The Post, adding that he believed Duprey, who served the city for 13 years, had been treated too harshly.

“It was a reflex response that virtually every cop would act in a similar situation given the same circumstances,” he argued.

Sergeants Benevolent Association President Vincent Vallelong said the sentence sent a “chilling message to every cop in the nation.”

Mitchell, a former prosecutor turned judge, faced backlash for another controversial decision in 2018 when he sentenced a teenager to nine months in prison for fatally beating a homeless man in Manhattan the previous year.

Prosecutors had pleaded that Mitchell, then serving in Manhattan court, lock up 19-year-old Branlee Gonzalez for at least 10 years, arguing he was a “Gorilla Stones” gang member. Victim Lucio Bravo’s daughter had also begged Mitchell to give her dad’s killer hard time.

Eric Duprey had sold an undercover officer $20 worth of cocaine before Duran hurled the cooler at him. Matthew McDermott

But the teen’s lawyer portrayed his client as a first-time offender who had a traumatic childhood, including being sexually abused by a family member — apparently convincing the judge to give him the wrist-slap.

Gonzalez had pleaded guilty to attempted assault and manslaughter — the same charge Mitchell found Duran guilty of following his bench trial in Bronx Supreme Court. 

The judge  had a wide range of sentencing options, from sending Duran to prison for up to 15 years to giving him a no-jail sentence of probation.

The last officer to be convicted for an on-duty killing was Peter Liang, a rookie cop who in 2016 was found guilty of manslaughter for fatally shooting unarmed Akai Gurley in a darkened public housing stairwell.

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Liang was sentenced to five years of probation and 800 hours of community service by a Brooklyn judge.

Rank-and-file cops were also outraged by Mitchell’s decision in the Duran case, with one Brooklyn detective calling it “an injustice and a travesty.

“First for the sergeant and his family, but also for all cops who go out in the street to try and protect the public,” said the detective, who noted Duran had to make a “split second decision” during the fatal incident.

Surveillance cameras showed Duran hurling a full Igloo cooler at the drug suspect at the scene. TOMAS E. GASTON

A Brooklyn police supervisor insisted Duran “should have gotten a medal” instead of time in the clink.

Lindsey Richards, a defense lawyer not involved in the case, called the sentence “extreme and damaging for so many in law enforcement,” arguing sending Duran to prison was wrong.

“Yes, officers need to be held responsible for misconduct,” argued Richards, a partner at Texas-based law firm Cofer & Connelly. “However, we have to keep in mind the situation they often find themselves in and how quickly they have to make decisions”

This case was throwing a cooler not firing a weapon. The outcome was an incredibly unfortunate death but does it rise to the level of sending an officer to prison? I don’t believe so.”

Still, Richards said the decision would likely stand on appeal because it was within the sentencing guidelines. 

John Scola, a longtime attorney with many rank-and-file NYPD officers as clients, agreed, noting that “bench trial convictions are tough to overturn.”

— Additional reporting by Carl Campanile