Police officer apologies for killing young dad — before he learns his fate in court

Erik Duran hurled a picnic cooler full of drinks at Eric Duprey, who crashed his motor scooter in the Bronx, New York City, and died of his injuries almost instantly

A police officer apologised for killing a man before he was sentenced to a jail spell today.

Erik Duran tossed a picnic cooler full of drinks and ice at Eric Duprey, which led to the 30-year-old man crashing his motorised scooter into a tree. Mr Duprey, who wasn’t wearing a helmet, suffered a head injury and died almost instantly at the scene in the Bronx, New York City.

Prosecutors said Duran, 38, threw the item because he was angry after dad-of-three Mr Duprey had fled when he was caught in a “buy-and-bust” sting. It was said in court Mr Duprey sold drugs to an undercover officer and then absconded.

But Duran, a married father of three, was convicted of manslaughter and yesterday a judge sentenced him to between three and nine years imprisonment. Duran, who was a sergeant with New York City Police Department (NYPD), had apologised to the victim’s family before he faced the verdict.

“I took this job to save lives. I felt terrible once I saw Eric Duprey crash. I never wanted this to happen,” Duran said in the courtroom in the Bronx.

Duran, the first former NYPD officer sentenced to prison for an on-duty death in at least two decades, said he was trying to protect other officers from the approaching scooter. Judge Guy Mitchell, though, said Duran’s actions were not justified, and he only tossed the picnic box because he was angry.

When Judge Mitchell announced his sentence, a woman in the public gallery shouted: “Nobody’s above the law.” Relatives of Mr Duprey, including his mother, were also sat in the public gallery for the hearing. After the proceedings, Pearl Velez, the man’s partner, told reporters she did not accept the cop’s apology.

Andrew Quinn, defending, had argued for his client not to be sent to jail. He called Mr Duprey’s death the “unintended and tragic consequences” of a “reckless decision” Duran made in a span of 2.5 seconds on August 23, 2023.

Duran grew up in the Bronx and led a “model, exemplary life” prior to Mr Duprey’s death. The married dad joined the NYPD because he wanted to make the borough “cleaner and safer for the kids who came after him,” his lawyer said.

The defendant’s union, the Sergeants Benevolent Association, said thousands of officers signed an online petition calling for him to be spared prison. Speaking after the sentencing, union president Vincent Vallelong said: “Today will forever be the darkest day of our profession.” The sentence, he said, “puts in the back of a police officer’s mind that they can lose their freedom.”