NYPD cooler death: Trial begins for sergeant Erik Duran charged with killing suspect in botched arrest in Bronx
The criminal trial of NYPD Sgt. Erik Duran, accused of tossing a cooler at a drug suspect as he fled arrest in the Bronx, killing him, begins on Wednesday.
Duran was indicted on manslaughter charges in the Aug. 2023 death of 30-year-old Eric Duprey, a delivery worker suspected of drug dealing.
Duprey fled a drug arrest, speeding off on a scooter.
Duran grabbed a white plastic cooler and "forcefully threw" it at Duprey, striking him in the head. Duprey lost control of his scooter and crashed into a tree.
The sergeant has pleaded not guilty.
The case will be prosecuted by the state attorney general's office. It will be a bench trial -- with a judge, not a jury, deciding Duran's fate.
Duran faces a maximum sentence of 25 years behind bars if he is convicted of manslaughter.
It is the first trial of an on-duty officer in a death in nearly a decade.
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