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Former New York City police sergeant Erik Duran is seated during his sentencing hearing at the Bronx County Hall of Justice Thursday, April 9, 2026, New York, for tossing a picnic cooler full of drinks at a fleeing suspect, Eric Duprey, who then crashed his motorized scooter and died.<\/p>\n
Michael R. Sisak\/AP<\/p>\n
Gretchen Soto, mother of Eric Duprey, and Black Lives Matter advocate Hawk Newsome are seen outside court following the sentencing of former New York City police sergeant Erik Duran at the Bronx County Hall of Justice Thursday, April 9, 2026, New York.<\/p>\n
Michael R. Sisak\/AP<\/p>\n
Demonstrators stand outside the Bronx County Hall of Justice in New York, Thursday, April 9, 2026, where former New York City police sergeant Erik Duran is set to be sentenced for tossing a picnic cooler full of drinks at a fleeing suspect, Eric Duprey, who then crashed his motorized scooter and died.<\/p>\n
David Martin\/AP<\/p>\n
Former New York City police sergeant Erik Duran stands during his sentencing hearing at the Bronx County Hall of Justice Thursday, April 9, 2026, New York, for tossing a picnic cooler full of drinks at a fleeing suspect, Eric Duprey, who then crashed his motorized scooter and died.<\/p>\n
Michael R. Sisak\/AP<\/p>\n
NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 A former New York City police sergeant was sentenced Thursday to three to nine years in prison for tossing a picnic cooler full of ice and drinks at a fleeing suspect, who then crashed his motorized scooter and died.<\/p>\n
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Erik Duran, 38, was convicted of manslaughter in the 2023 death of 30-year-old Eric Duprey. The ex-sergeant said he was trying to protect other officers from the approaching scooter. He is the first former NYPD officer sentenced to prison for an on-duty death in at least two decades.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI took this job to save lives. I felt terrible once I saw Eric Duprey crash,” Duran told a Bronx judge, saying he \u201cdid everything he could\u201d to attend to the man’s injuries.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never wanted this to happen,\u201d he added, apologizing to Duprey’s family in Spanish as a court interpreter translated.<\/p>\n
Duprey’s mother, Gretchen Soto, wept as Duran spoke. Earlier, she told the court: “There are no words to express what I feel.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Judge Guy Mitchell said he did not accept the ex-sergeant\u2019s defense that his actions were justified, concluding that Duran hurled the cooler because he \u201cwas upset that Mr. Duprey was getting away.\u201d If there was no cooler, the judge said, Duprey \u201cwould have driven by\u201d Duran and \u201ccould\u2019ve been captured another day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Duran was immediately taken into custody after sentencing. His lawyer, Arthur Aidala, said he will ask a court to free him on bail while he appeals.<\/p>\n
“Nobody\u2019s above the law\u201d a woman shouted in a courthouse hallway after the sentence was announced.<\/p>\n
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Afterward, Soto and Duprey’s partner, Pearl Velez, said they did not accept Duran\u2019s apology.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow you gonna say sorry now?\u201d Velez said.<\/p>\n
Duran’s union, the Sergeants Benevolent Association, said thousands of officers signed an online petition calling for him to be spared prison.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday will forever be the darkest day of our profession,\u201d union president Vincent Vallelong said. Duran\u2019s prison sentence, he said, \u201cputs in the back of a police officer’s mind that they can lose their freedom\u201d for making a split-second decision.<\/p>\n
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Officers in NYPD jackets packed the courtroom gallery, while a couple dozen protesters outside demanded justice for Duprey.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors with state Attorney General Letitia James\u2019 office sought a three-to-nine-year prison sentence for Duran, saying he recklessly caused Duprey’s death.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe did that while on duty,\u201d then attempted to cover up his actions, prosecutor Joseph Bianco told the court.<\/p>\n
Defense lawyer Andrew Quinn argued for no prison time, calling Duprey\u2019s death the \u201cunintended and tragic consequences\u201d of a \u201creckless decision\u201d Duran made in a span of 2.5 seconds.<\/p>\n
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Duran grew up in the Bronx and led a \u201cmodel, exemplary life\u201d prior to Duprey’s death. A married father of three, he joined the NYPD because he wanted to make the borough \u201ccleaner and safer for the kids who came after him,\u201d Quinn said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is now the cooler cop,\u201d Quinn said.<\/p>\n
Duran was part of a narcotics policing unit that conducted a \u201cbuy-and-bust\u201d operation in the Bronx on Aug. 23, 2023. Police said Duprey sold drugs to an undercover officer, then tried to flee on a scooter.<\/p>\n