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Eric Duprey

Age : 30

Gender : Male

Race : Latino/a/e

Date : 08/23/2023

Location : Aqueduct Avenue between West 190th Street and West 192nd Street

City : New York

County : Bronx

State : New York

Agency : New York City Police Department

Officer(s) :Sgt. Erik Duran

Cause of Death : Beaten/bludgeoned

Event : Driver killed after NYPD sergeant struck him with cooler during attempted arrest following undercover drug operation

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 08/23/2023, at approximately 5:00 p.m., members of the New York City Police Department Narcotics Borough Bronx Tactical Response Unit were conducting an undercover buy-and-bust operation on Aqueduct Avenue between West 190th and West 192nd streets. According to the New York Attorney General's subsequent prosecution, Eric Duprey, 30, sold a small quantity of cocaine to an undercover NYPD officer. Plainclothes officers then moved in to arrest him.
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Duprey got onto a motorized scooter and drove down the sidewalk as officers attempted to arrest him. NYPD Sgt. Erik Duran, who was participating in the narcotics operation, was positioned along Duprey's path.
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As Duprey approached, Duran grabbed a picnic cooler from a nearby table and forcefully threw it at Duprey's head. The cooler struck Duprey and caused him to lose control of the scooter at high speed and crash.
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Duprey suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene. The New York Attorney General's Office of Special Investigation opened an investigation because Duran's actions had directly preceded and potentially caused Duprey's death.
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NYPD suspended Duran following the killing and subsequently placed him on modified duty. On 01/23/2024, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that a Bronx County grand jury had indicted Duran on second-degree manslaughter, first- and second-degree assault, and criminally negligent homicide charges. The indictment alleged that Duran recklessly caused Duprey's death by striking him with a blunt object.
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Duran elected to have the criminal case decided in a bench trial rather than by a jury. On 02/06/2026, Bronx Supreme Court Judge Guy Mitchell found Duran guilty of second-degree manslaughter for causing Duprey's death.
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On 04/09/2026, Judge Mitchell sentenced Duran to three to nine years in state prison. By sentencing, the Attorney General identified Duran as a former NYPD sergeant. The conviction made this a rare case in which an NYPD officer was criminally convicted and sentenced to prison for an on-duty killing.
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On 04/17/2026, a state appellate judge granted Duran release on $300,000 bail while he appeals his manslaughter conviction. His conviction and three-to-nine-year prison sentence remain in place while the appeal proceeds.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
Erik Duran was an NYPD sergeant assigned to the Narcotics Borough Bronx Tactical Response Unit when he killed Duprey. He was an undercover member of the unit and was participating in the buy-and-bust operation when he threw the cooler.
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A publicly released New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board investigative record also documents Duran's involvement in a separate November 2021 civilian encounter in the Bronx. In that case, a civilian alleged abuse of authority involving Duran and other NYPD officers. The CCRB investigation included an allegation that Duran failed to provide the civilian with a business card.
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Duran was indicted in January 2024 and convicted of second-degree manslaughter on 02/06/2026. On 04/09/2026, he received a three-to-nine-year prison sentence.
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Duran is no longer an NYPD officer. Following his conviction, he was dismissed from the department.
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Duran is currently appealing his conviction. An appellate judge released him on $300,000 bail on 04/17/2026 while that appeal proceeds.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://news.yahoo.com/fleeing-bronx-drug-suspect-dies-190800105.html
https://www.dakotanewsnow.com/2023/08/27/motorcyclist-dies-crash-after-police-sergeant-throws-cooler-his-head/
https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2024/attorney-general-james-announces-indictment-and-arraignment-nypd-sergeant
https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2026/attorney-general-james-announces-conviction-nypd-sergeant-manslaughter-charge
https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2026/attorney-general-james-announces-sentencing-former-nypd-sergeant-manslaughter