Mahopac resident and former NYPD officer Erik Duran sentenced in manslaughter case

BRONX, N.Y.—Mahopac resident and former NYPD undercover officer Erik Duran has been sentenced to at least three years in prison after his conviction for manslaughter in the death of suspect Eric Duprey during a 2023 undercover drug operation in the Bronx.

According to the New York Times, Duran, 38, addressed Duprey’s mother, Gretchen Soto, in Spanish at the April 9 sentencing at the Bronx County Hall of Justice.

“I am really sorry for the loss of your child,” the Times reported Duran saying, as he began to sob while Duprey’s partner, Pearl Velez, held her.

“I never wanted this to happen. I pray for you and your family,” the Times reported.

Through a court translator, Soto said the death of her son, 30, was not “just one more case” and that he was “well-loved.”

“It is an unjust incident that, as a mother,” she said. “I have to miss him now every day.”

At his trial, Duran, a 15-year NYPD veteran who was working in the NYPD Narcotics Borough Bronx (NBBX) Tactical Response Unit and was on an undercover operation when Duprey was killed, testified that he was protecting fellow officers when he threw a cooler at Duprey, who was trying to get away on a scooter. The cooler hit Duprey’s arm, causing him to have a fatal crash.

Thousands of fellow officers had rallied around an NYPD sergeant from Mahopac as his sentencing approached for a manslaughter conviction stemming from an incident that took place while he was on the job.

More than 11,000 current and former law enforcement officers have signed a petition urging a Bronx judge not to jail Duran; the Times reported that police packed the courtroom at the sentencing hearing.

The petition, organized by the NYPD Sergeants Benevolent Association, argued that jailing Duran will send the wrong message to officers forced to make split-second decisions.

On Facebook, the association said, “We stand with Duran.”

“He did his job,” said SBA President Vincent Vallelong. “He did the same thing every police officer would do in that situation. After this, every cop is going to worry their next decision could cost them their freedom.”

The case has drawn national attention as one of the rare instances of an NYPD officer being convicted of manslaughter, sparking a debate on where to draw the line between justifiable force and police brutality. The Times reported that demonstrators were there Thursday.

At the sentencing, Judge Guy H. Mitchell, who presided over the trial, agreed with prosecutors’ recommendation that Duran be sentenced to three to nine years in prison. While he acknowledged Duran’s remorse, Mitchell said the sentence would be “a general deterrent” for officers “violating the law when they are making attempts to apprehend fleeing suspects.”

In February, Duran became the first NYPD officer convicted of killing a civilian while on duty in more than a decade. He was fired immediately after the guilty verdict.

Duran—who faced up to 15 years in prison—has stated that he never intended to kill Duprey and rendered aid immediately.

“I did everything that I could,” the Times reported him saying. “I regret that this day ever happened.”

In a statement after the sentencing, Vallelong called it “one of the darkest days in the history of our profession,” and said the decision had “sent a very chilling message to every cop in the nation.”

The judge denied a request not to execute Duran’s incarceration for a week while his attorney, Arthur L. Aidala, petitioned the appellate court to let Duran remain free pending appeal.

Mitchell ordered that Duran be taken to Rikers Island.

CBS News reported that Velez, Duprey’s girlfriend and mother of his two young children, said the conviction was a relief to her and the family.

“He’s in jail, and I’m happy,” Velez said. “I can sleep now. I can go home and tell my kids we got justice.”

Outside the courtroom, Vallelong emphasized the SBA would do “everything it can” to support Duran during his appeal.

“It wasn’t only Sgt. Duran, a great cop, who was on trial,” CBS News reported him saying. “Every law enforcement officer who makes a split-second decision in the performance of their duties to protect the public was also on trial.

“And this sentencing, which has now sent a very chilling message to every cop in the nation—that the system that we have sworn to uphold can single-handedly destroy your career and your life for doing exactly what you are trained to do.”