{"id":191247,"date":"2026-04-09T19:30:46","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T19:30:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/191247\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T19:30:46","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T19:30:46","slug":"cooler-cop-nypd-sgt-erik-duran-sentenced-to-3-to-9-years-for-killing-fleeing-bronx-drug-suspect-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/191247\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Cooler cop\u2019 NYPD Sgt. Erik Duran sentenced to 3 to 9 years for killing fleeing Bronx drug suspect"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sgt. Erik Duran, the NYPD \u201cCooler Cop\u201d who killed a fleeing drug-deal suspect in the Bronx by hurling a heavy, ice-filled cooler<\/a> at him, got a three-to-nine-year prison sentence Thursday, drawing cheers from criminal justice reform advocates and vitriol from the former cop\u2019s followers.<\/p>\n

Duran, 38, wept as he stood before Judge Guy Mitchell in Bronx Supreme Court, telling the judge he \u201cdid everything he could\u201d to save Eric Duprey after he crashed his motorcycle almost three years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cI took this job to save lives,\u201d Duran told the judge. \u201cI felt terrible once I saw Eric Duprey crashed. I ran up to him immediately. I regret that this day happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m asking for a chance to be there for my kids,\u201d he added before the judge announced the sentence. \u201cOne chance, that\u2019s all.\u201d<\/p>\n

He spoke directly to Duprey\u2019s grieving mother, Gretchen Soto, in Spanish.<\/p>\n

\u201cMa\u2019am, I\u2019m really sorry of the loss of your child,\u201d he said. \u201cI never wanted this to happen. I pray for you and your family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Soto seemed unmoved by the cop\u2019s pleas for leniency.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are no words for me to express what I feel,\u201d she told the court before Duran\u2019s remarks, before he was sentenced. \u201cIt is an unjust incident. As a mother I have to miss (my son) now every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe justice that I\u2019m asking for is just a normal justice as any mother would,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Duprey\u2019s partner, Orlyanis Velez, gave a blunt assessment of Duran\u2019s apology: \u201cThat was fake.\u201d<\/p>\n

Outside the courthouse, Soto and Velez stood in the middle of the street flipping double middle fingers at nearby police cars.<\/p>\n

Duran was convicted of second-degree manslaughter in February following a Bronx Criminal Court non-jury trial. He was fired by the NYPD upon his conviction.<\/p>\n

The manslaughter conviction meant he faced a maximum sentence of five to 15 years in prison.<\/p>\n

Duran is the first NYPD officer in recent memory to receive a prison sentence for killing a civilian in the course of duty. Peter Liang, who was found guilty in 2016 of manslaughter<\/a> in the shooting death of Akai Gurley in Brooklyn, was sentenced to probation.<\/p>\n

Another NYPD officer, Craig Yokemick, was sentenced to 34 months in federal prison in a 1998 Harlem case similar to Duprey\u2019s killing<\/a> \u2014 he chucked a police radio at Kenneth Banks, a drug suspect fleeing on a bicycle, killing him.<\/p>\n

After being caught on body-worn camera selling cocaine to an undercover officer, Duprey, 30, jumped on a motorbike and fled a drug bust at Aqueduct Ave. near W. 192nd St. in Kingsbridge Heights on Aug. 23, 2023.<\/p>\n

Duprey was speeding down the sidewalk, about to crash into a group of officers, when Duran, in an attempt to stop Duprey, lifted the cooler loaded with ice and drinks and, using both hands, hurled it at the suspect.<\/p>\n

Duprey, who wasn\u2019t wearing a helmet, lost control, sideswiped a tree, and was thrown off the scooter. He struck his head on the curb and landed under a parked vehicle.<\/p>\n

Duran\u2019s attorneys said Duprey was about to crash into other cops as he sped down the sidewalk on his motorbike. Duran threw the cooler to prevent him from doing so and protect his fellow officers, he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cEric Duran should not be punished with incarceration for a decision that he made in two and a half seconds,\u201d Duran\u2019s attorney Andrew Quinn told Judge Mitchell. \u201cHe never intended to injure anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Duran\u2019s incarceration, Quinn said, will have a heartbreaking effect on the 16-year NYPD veteran\u2019s family, who won\u2019t be able to pay the mortgage on their home.<\/p>\n

\u201c(He) has already been punished more than sufficiently,\u201d Quinn said of Duran. \u201cHe has lost his job. He has lost his pension. His family no longer has security. His family no longer has health benefits. He is now the \u2018Cooler Cop,\u2019 and everywhere he applies for work he will have to admit he was convicted of a felony.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMake no mistake, judge, the eyes of the law enforcement community are focused on this courtroom,\u201d Quinn added. \u201cThe sentence you impose is going to send a message that officers who make a split-second decision, a judgment call in good faith, are now looking at incarceration for an unexpected tragic outcome.\u201d<\/p>\n

Assistant Attorney General Joseph Bianco, who prosecuted Duran, called the cop \u201ca person who was willing to place his interests over everybody else.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSergeant Duran recklessly caused the death of another human. He did that while on duty. There is no more serious gravity of offense,\u201d Bianco said. \u201cThis was a person who was willing to brush everything under the rug up until the moment he was convicted.\u201d<\/p>\n

Judge Mitchell, while noting Duran\u2019s exemplary record with the NYPD, said he wasn\u2019t moved by the cop\u2019s justification for his actions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe court does not credit that (Duran\u2019s) life was in danger or the life of his fellow officers,\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cIf there was no cooler, (Duprey) could have driven right by him and got away \u2014 but he could have been captured another day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mitchell also imposed the sentence as a caution to other police officers: \u201cThis court believes it will be a general deterrent in curbing the behavior of public servants, that being police officers, of violating the law when they are making attempts to stop and apprehend fleeing suspects,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

On Monday, Duran\u2019s attorneys delivered a petition of more than 10,000 signatures from law enforcement officials around the globe asking Mitchell to sentence the NYPD veteran to no time behind bars.<\/p>\n

In response, Black Lives Matter activists on Tuesday demanded the maximum prison sentence for Duran, and went on a tour of the offices of Bronx elected officials, including Borough President Venessa Gibson, to urge them to speak out.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was activism that brought this case to the forefront,\u201d activist Hawk Newsome told reporters Thursday. \u201cIt was activism that changed his name from Sgt. Erik Duran to the Cooler Killer. So when you talk about this cop who took someone\u2019s life? You call him by his proper name, the Cooler Killer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vincent Vallelong, the president of the Sergeants Benevolent Association, which put together the petition, called Thursday\u2019s sentencing \u201cone of the darkest days in the history of our profession.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t only Sgt. Duran, a great cop, who was on trial,\u201d Vallelong said. \u201cEvery law enforcement officer who makes a split-second decision in the performance of their duties to protect the public was also on trial. And this sentencing, which has now sent a very chilling message to every cop in the nation \u2014 that the system that we have sworn to uphold can single-handedly destroy your career and your life for doing exactly what you are trained to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Defense lawyer Arthur Aidala, who recently joined Duran\u2019s defense team, said he\u2019s appealing the sentence. Duran is headed to Rikers Island in the interim, after the judge refused a request to stay the execution of his sentence.<\/p>\n

\u201cListen, nobody is saying it\u2019s not a tragedy. No one is saying this young man should have died. But it shouldn\u2019t be forgotten that he was in the middle of a criminal act,\u201d Aidala said. \u201cHe wasn\u2019t on the motorcycle running to church because they didn\u2019t have enough hosts on Easter Sunday.\u201d<\/p>\n

Later, Newsome interrupted a press conference as Aidala took the podium, yelling, \u201cIt\u2019s a piss-poor argument! You\u2019re gonna lose the appeal, too! You shoulda got Alex Spiro!\u201d referring to the high-profile defense lawyer. \u201cAnd guess what? The (police) union sucks now! You\u2019re weak! No more killer cops are going free! We! Beat! You!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sgt. Erik Duran, the NYPD \u201cCooler Cop\u201d who killed a fleeing drug-deal suspect in the Bronx by hurling…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":191248,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[128,2703,76552,46111,76551,53568,54519,9,24,63,103,76550,129,131,130],"class_list":{"0":"post-191247","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-the-bronx","8":"tag-bronx","9":"tag-cop","10":"tag-duran","11":"tag-eric-duprey","12":"tag-eric-duran","13":"tag-erik-duran","14":"tag-guy-mitchell","15":"tag-new-york","16":"tag-new-york-city","17":"tag-nyc","18":"tag-nypd","19":"tag-prison-sentence","20":"tag-the-bronx","21":"tag-the-bronx-headlines","22":"tag-the-bronx-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=191247"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191247\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/191248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=191247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=191247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=191247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}