Mahopac NYPD sergeant found guilty in 2023 scooter death 

An NYPD sergeant from Mahopac has been convicted of manslaughter in the 2023 death of a Bronx man after the officer threw a cooler at him while he was riding a motorized scooter, according to the New York Attorney General’s Office. 

Erik Duran, 38, was found guilty of second-degree manslaughter following a bench trial before Bronx Supreme Court Judge Guy Mitchell, Attorney General Letitia James announced. Duran was assigned at the time of the incident to the NYPD Narcotics Borough Bronx Tactical Response Unit. 

Prosecutors said at the time of the incident on Aug. 23, 2023, Duran was supervising an undercover "buy-and-bust" narcotics operation in the Kingsbridge Heights section of the Bronx. Members of Duran’s unit, the Narcotics Borough Bronx Tactical Response Unit, watched as Eric Duprey allegedly sold $20 worth of cocaine to an undercover officer. As the unit moved in to make arrests, they initially detained the wrong person, giving Duprey time to mount a motorized scooter and attempt to flee. 

Authorities said Duprey began riding the scooter at approximately 30 mph down a sidewalk where Duran was standing. Duran grabbed a red-and-white Igloo cooler filled with ice and beverages from a nearby table and hurled it at Duprey using a "shot-put motion". 

The cooler struck Duprey, causing him to lose control, crash into a tree and a parked car, and suffer fatal head injuries.  

During his trial, Duran testified that he believed Duprey was intent on ambushing or killing his fellow officers by riding toward them, and claimed he threw the cooler as a split-second decision to "stop the threat". However, prosecutors argued he was simply trying to "save an arrest" after the initial botch.  

Duran is scheduled to return to court for sentencing on March 19. Second-degree manslaughter carries a maximum sentence of five to 15 years in prison under state law. 

Judge Mitchell set bail at $300,000 bond or a $500,000 partially secured bond, with a $300,000 cash alternative, according to the Attorney General’s Office. 

“I offer my sincerest condolences to the family and friends of Eric Duprey,” James said in a statement announcing the conviction. “Though it cannot return Eric to his loved ones, today’s decision gives justice to his memory.” 

The case was prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigation, which under New York Executive Law is required to review any incident in which a police or peace officer may have caused a person’s death. The law applies whether the officer was on or off duty and regardless of whether the person who died was armed or in custody. 

According to the Attorney General’s Office, if the Office of Special Investigation determines that an officer may have caused the death of a person, it conducts a full investigation and, when warranted, pursues prosecution. 

Duran had been on paid absence while awaiting his trial, but a spokesperson for the NYPD said he was terminated on Friday in the wake of his conviction. 

The Sergeants Benevolent Association (SBA), the city’s sergeant union, has been supporting Duran since the day of his indictment. Vincent Vallelong, president of the SBA called the verdict a “miscarriage of justice,” and maintained Duran’s innocence.