{"id":204030,"date":"2026-04-20T23:55:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T23:55:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/204030\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T23:55:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T23:55:09","slug":"ex-nypd-sgt-erik-duran-released-on-300k-bail-while-appealing-bx-manslaughter-conviction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/204030\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-NYPD Sgt. Erik Duran released on $300k bail while appealing BX manslaughter conviction"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Former NYPD Sgt. Erik Duran was released from an upstate maximum-security prison on Monday after posting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nydailynews.com\/2026\/04\/17\/ex-nypd-sgt-erik-duran-released-bail-appeals-bronx-manslaughter-conviction\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">$300,000 bail<\/a>, according to the state\u2019s Department of Corrections.<\/p>\n<p>Duran, 38, was sentenced to 3-9 years in prison after being convicted of manslaughter for the death of Eric Duprey, a suspected drug dealer, whom <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nydailynews.com\/2026\/02\/02\/cop-on-trial-in-fatal-cooler-hurling-episode-said-he-was-protecting-fellow-officers\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">he killed by throwing a heavy, ice-filled cooler at him<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>But the cop only spent about two weeks behind bars at the Elmira Correctional Facility before a state appellate judge ruled on Friday that he could appeal his conviction from outside prison.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThank you everyone for your prayers,\u201d Duran <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/sbanypd\/status\/2046326312571211953?s=46\" rel=\"nofollow\">said in a statement<\/a>\u00a0Monday. \u201cI now look forward to seeing my family and fighting my appeal with the same determination I demonstrated throughout my career in the NYPD.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>cop cooler nyc scooter fatal crash<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" lazyautosizes lazyload\" alt=\"Eric Duprey (pictured), a scooter-riding suspect fleeing a Bronx buy-and-bust drug sting, died Aug. 23, 2023, after an NYPD sergeant grabbed a cooler from a nearby family get-together and hurled it at the man, knocking him to the ground.\" width=\"1200\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776729308_932_KSUJXH6YL5FQNOXX343RTYOGF4.jpg\" data-attachment-id=\"7093936\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Obtained by Daily News<\/p>\n<p>Eric Duprey (pictured), a scooter-riding suspect fleeing a Bronx buy-and-bust drug sting, died Aug. 23, 2023, after an NYPD sergeant grabbed a cooler from a nearby family get-together and hurled it at the man, knocking him to the ground.<\/p>\n<p>An attorney for Duran, Arthur Aidala, called his sentencing on April 9 by Judge Guy Mitchell \u201ca clear miscarriage of justice,\u201d and said his legal team is \u201cconfident this injustice will be rectified.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As Duran was being reunited with his loved ones, New York Black Lives Matter leader Hawk Newsome stood outside the NYPD\u2019s headquarters in Lower Manhattan to demand Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch apologize to Duprey\u2019s family.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI demanded that Commissioner Tisch reach out to the family of Eric Duprey and extend her condolences,\u201d Newsome said Monday. \u201cHow is it that a police officer is found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced 3-9 years and the police commissioner doesn\u2019t call the family and extend their apology.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>cop cooler nyc scooter fatal crash<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" lazyautosizes lazyload\" alt=\"Eric Duprey, a scooter-riding suspect fleeing a Bronx buy-and-bust drug sting, died Wednesday when an NYPD sergeant struck him with this red cooler. Duprey was fatally injured when he fell to the ground. Bronx narcotics Sgt. Erik Duran was suspended from his job hours later.\" width=\"1200\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776729308_187_TEAPS67F7RFRDK5CU2Q3A7XI7Q.jpg\" data-attachment-id=\"5118728\" \/>Eric Duprey, a scooter-riding suspect fleeing a Bronx buy-and-bust drug sting, died after being knocked to the ground when an NYPD cop threw a cooler (pictured) at him. (Obtained by Daily News)<\/p>\n<p>The Sergeants Benevolent Association, the union representing Duran, cheered the decision signed by Associate Justice Salliann Scarpulla to release the cop.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe will be released from prison and remain free during his appeal,\u201d SBA President Vincent Vallelong said on social media. \u201cThis is a major win for Erik and his family and for law enforcement officers around the country!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vallelong called Mitchell\u2019s sentencing Duran to a maximum security prison an \u201catrocious thing to do,\u201d and said it caused him to \u201close a little faith in the justice system.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe tireless work done by our attorneys brought the appeal forth,\u201d Vellelong said. He added that the SBA has received a huge response from its fundraising drive for Duran\u2019s legal expenses, which included an ad shown on a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsday.com\/sports\/hockey\/islanders\/islanders-ubs-arena-nypd-sgt-erik-duran-lrlslwfk\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">jumbotron at a recent Islanders game at USB Arena<\/a>. \u201cBut its the support of the people that means the most,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s really appreciated by the Duran family.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" lazyautosizes lazyload\" alt=\"Vincent Vallelong, president of the NYPD Seargents Benevolent Association, speaks outside court after the arraignment of Joshua Dorsett a suspected gang member with an extensive criminal sheet, accused of shooting and wounding two NYPD sergeants after robbing a woman on the Lower East Side on Friday, August 2, 2024. (Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Daily News)\" width=\"3500\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/TNY-MCD2324.jpg\" data-attachment-id=\"7897725\" \/>Vincent Vallelong, president of the NYPD Seargents Benevolent Association, speaks outside court in Manhattan on Friday, August 2, 2024. (Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Daily News)<\/p>\n<p>Duprey, 30, tried to flee police on a motorbike after he was caught on a body-worn camera selling cocaine to an undercover officer on Aqueduct Ave. near W. 192nd St. in Fordham on Aug. 23, 2023. The suspect was speeding down a sidewalk toward a group of officers when Duran lifted the cooler loaded with ice and drinks and hurled it at Duprey.<\/p>\n<p>The impact caused the suspect to lose control, sideswipe a tree and go flying off the scooter. Duprey struck his head on the curb and landed under a parked vehicle. He was not wearing a helmet.<\/p>\n<p>Attorney Jonathan Roberts said Duprey\u2019s family was \u201cdeeply disappointed\u201d by the appellate judge\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile we respect the appellate process, this outcome reopens painful wounds for a family that has already endured an immense loss,\u201d he said. \u201cOur focus remains on seeking accountability and ensuring that the seriousness of what occurred is never diminished.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" lazyautosizes lazyload\" alt=\"Eric Duprey's mother, Gretchen Soto, speaks alongside BLM NYC co-founders Hawk Newsome, back, and Chivona Newsome, right, after NYPD Sgt. Erik Duran's sentencing Thursday, April 9, 2026 in the Bronx. (Barry Williams\/ New York Daily News)\" width=\"5000\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/TNY-Sentencing-Williams-472_6cc79d.jpg\" data-attachment-id=\"8771897\" \/>Eric Duprey\u2019s mother, Gretchen Soto, speaks alongside BLM NYC co-founders Hawk Newsome, back, and Chivona Newsome, right, after NYPD Sgt. Erik Duran\u2019s sentencing Thursday, April 9, 2026 in the Bronx. (Barry Williams\/ New York Daily News)<\/p>\n<p>The decision drew the ire of members of Black Lives Matter of Greater New York, who lobbied for Mitchell to hit Duran with the full 15-year sentence.<\/p>\n<p>Hawk Newsome and Black Lives Matter co-founder Chivona Newsome said giving Duran bail as he appealed the conviction was \u201can appalling miscarriage of justice that reveals the deep rot within our legal system.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile thousands of Black and Brown New Yorkers languish in Rikers Island without ever being convicted of a crime, a man found guilty of manslaughter is allowed to walk free because of a backdoor legal maneuver,\u201d they said. \u201cThis is not justice. It is systematic sabotage.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former NYPD Sgt. Erik Duran was released from an upstate maximum-security prison on Monday after posting $300,000 bail,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":204031,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[128,262,263,266,85,267,9,24,264,12,63,261,265,129,131,130],"class_list":{"0":"post-204030","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-the-bronx","8":"tag-bronx","9":"tag-city","10":"tag-county","11":"tag-crime-and-public-safety","12":"tag-latest-headlines","13":"tag-local-news","14":"tag-new-york","15":"tag-new-york-city","16":"tag-new-york-county","17":"tag-news","18":"tag-nyc","19":"tag-nyc-crime","20":"tag-sub-county-region","21":"tag-the-bronx","22":"tag-the-bronx-headlines","23":"tag-the-bronx-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204030","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=204030"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204030\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/204031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=204030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=204030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=204030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}