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By: Hellen Zaboulani
An NYPD sergeant has been indicted by the State Attorney General’s office on criminal charges related to the August death of a scooter-riding drug suspect. As reported by the NY Post, the undercover police sergeant had thrown a cooler at Eric Duprey, 30, who was fleeing a drug bust on Aqueduct Avenue near West 190th Street in the Bronx’s Kingsbridge Heights. The suspect had crashed into a car after being hit in the head and died, and as a result the sergeant has since been suspended without pay. NYS Attorney General Letitia James has indicted Sgt. Erik Duran with criminal charges. Sgt. Duran, who is a 13-year veteran of the force, is expected to surrender himself to authorities Tuesday at the Bronx Hall of Justice.
Per the Post, the Sergeants’ Benevolent Association spoke out blasting NY’s AG for bringing up criminal charges against the officer. “The demonization of Sgt. Duran and the criminalization of his actions once again proves the old adage that overzealous prosecutors with a political agenda can indict a ham sandwich if inclined to do so,” SBA President Vincent Vallelong said in a statement. “Sgt. Duran made a split-second decision that was predicated solely on his concern for the safety of others. Now he has become the latest victim of a legal system that treats honest hard-working cops as criminals and criminals as victims,” Vallelong added.
Duprey had sold crack cocaine to the undercover sergeant before fleeing on his scooter, police sources said. While fleeing from the cops, Duprey had died after crashing into a parked car after being hit in the head with the cooler thrown by the sergeant. The city medical examiner found that he was killed from “blunt force injuries of the head.” An investigation was launched by The NYPD’s Force Investigation Division and State Attorney General’s Office.
Duprey’s mother said the allegations were “all lies.” “He wasn’t fleeing. He was just on the motorcycle talking to me on the video chat. And he passed by that place when all of a sudden the call cut out,” Gretchen Soto told The Associated Press in Spanish. Soto said her son was innocent, adding that he left behind three young children under the age of 10. “They left three fatherless babies,” Soto said. “I’m going to get justice.”
Per the Post, Duprey had previously worked with the city’s Parks Department and was currently employed as an Uber Eats driver. Duprey had a previous arrest for a narcotics case from March, police sources said. He also had an open felony assault case in the Bronx from June 2022 for allegedly throwing a two-liter bottle of soda through someone’s driver-side window.
Vallelong said on behalf of the police association that Duprey dangerously drove 40 mph down the sidewalk, endangering pedestrians and children. He added that Duran’s action saved him and other officers from being crashed into by Duprey, had he not been stopped at that moment. Without Duran’s efforts, the drug deal would have “caused serious injuries or death to numerous people,” per the SBA statements.
Vallelong said he is positive that if James’ office had “properly investigated,” they would have found Duran’s efforts to be “justified, warranted, and lawful.” “Instead, the Attorney General has once again displayed her fecklessness at the expense of a well-respected NYPD Sergeant who did the right thing,” Vallelong said in the statement.
