![\"Jan.](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_4734.jpeg\" "\\"NYPD")
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Jan. 14 marked the first time an NYPD cop was placed on trial in a decade. Sergeant Erik Duran appeared in the Bronx Hall of Justice, located at 265 East 161 Street, wearing a blue suit and accompanied by several of his colleagues. In the coming days a judge, not a jury, will decide his fate based on the evidence presented.<\/p>\n
Photo by Dean Moses<\/p>\n
An NYPD sergeant on Friday was found guilty of second-degree manslaughter after throwing a cooler at a fleeing suspect\u2019s head, killing him, last summer.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
Sgt. Erik Duran, 38 was the first active member of the department to be prosecuted in more than a decade. His bench trial<\/a> in Bronx Supreme Court began Jan. 14 before Judge Guy Mitchell.\u00a0<\/p>\n New York Attorney General Letitia James\u2019 office conducted an investigation<\/a> that led the prosecution<\/a> over the Aug. 23, 2023, killing of 30-year-old Eric Duprey, who all parties acknowledged was caught by Duran selling drugs.\u00a0<\/p>\n Prosecutors say Duran then hurled the cooler at Duprey out of frustration that the drug bust went awry, while defense attorneys framed the act as an attempt to protect pedestrians from Duprey as he rode away on a motorized scooter.\u00a0<\/p>\n Duran will be sentenced on March 19. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. His bail was set at $300,000 bond or $500,000 partially secured bond.<\/p>\n \u201cI offer my sincerest condolences to the family and friends of Eric Duprey,\u201d James said in a statement Friday. \u201cThough it cannot return Eric to his loved ones, today\u2019s decision gives justice to his memory.\u201d<\/p>\n Duran, who lives in Putnam County, was on duty as a member of the NYPD Narcotics Borough Bronx Tactical Response Unit.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n In response to the verdict, Vincent Vallelong, president of the Sergeants Benevolent Association, criticized the finding and said he expects it to be overturned.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \u201cToday\u2019s verdict was a miscarriage of justice. We vigorously maintain Sergeant Duran\u2019s innocence. The verdict rendered by Judge Mitchell is clearly against the weight of the credible evidence. Verdicts such as this send a terrible message to hard-working cops: should you use force to defend yourself, your fellow police officers or the citizens of the City, no matter how justified your actions, you risk criminal charges and conviction,\u201d Vallelong said in a statement Friday.\u00a0<\/p>\n He said defense attorneys are reviewing all legal options.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \u201cWe are confident Judge Mitchell\u2019s verdict will be overturned,\u201d he said.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Trial in the Bronx\u00a0<\/p>\n While demonstrators outside the Bronx Hall of Justice rallied to demand a conviction against Duran, attorneys last month delivered opening statements telling two different versions of the events that transpired in August 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n Angel Chiohh of the Attorney General\u2019s Office said police had arrested the wrong man and Duprey was attempting to escape astride a motorized scooter.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \u201cIt wasn\u2019t an accident, because the act of picking up a loaded cooler requires a lot of strength, and the subsequent act of heaving that cooler at somebody\u2019s head with such force that it knocks them off a scooter, crashing into the street and dying, requires a lot of force,\u201d Chiohh told Judge Mitchell on Jan. 14.\u00a0<\/p>\n