Update: Officer charged with manslaughter released on bail pending appeal
A former NYPD sergeant was sentenced to three to nine years in prison for tossing a picnic cooler full of ice and drinks at a fleeing suspect, who then crashed his motorized scooter and died. The post Update: Officer charged with manslaughter released on bail pending appeal appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.
Black News 
Convicted ex-NYPD sergeant Erik Duran was reportedly released from prison on $300,000 bail on Monday, April 20, as he appeals his second-degree manslaughter conviction for killing fleeing Bronx man Eric Duprey by throwing a cooler at his head in 2023. He was sentenced to three to nine years in prison earlier this month.
Background on the incident
On Aug. 23, Duprey allegedly sold cocaine to an undercover officer in the Bronx, according to the Office of the New York State Attorney General. The 30-year-old man allegedly fled on a motorized scooter during the arrest attempt. Duran picked up and chucked a nearby picnic cooler at Duprey’s head, causing him to crash. He was soon pronounced dead.
Like all police killings, the attorney general’s office investigated the incident. Ultimately, Duran was the first officer convicted over an on-duty civilian death since Peter Liang for fatally shooting Akai Gurley in 2016.
What people are saying
Duran’s union, the Sergeants Benevolent Association, published his statement after the news:
“First and foremost, I want to thank my family, particularly my wife, my children, and my parents for all their unconditional love and support throughout this ordeal,” he wrote. “I also want to thank God for giving me the strength and guiding me through the darkness. I thank my entire legal team for never giving up in their pursuit of justice. And finally, I want to thank my union, the SBA, my brothers and sisters in the NYPD, and my brothers and sisters in blue around the world.
“Your unwavering support and solidarity will never be forgotten. Thank you everyone for your prayers. I now look forward to seeing my family and fighting my appeal with the same determination I demonstrated throughout my career in the NYPD
Black Lives Matter of Greater New York leaders Chivona and Hawk Newsome released a statement calling the decision to grant Duran bail pending appeal “an appalling miscarriage of justice.”
“After a fair trial and a historic conviction, the system has once again chosen to prioritize the comfort of a killer with a badge over the safety and dignity of our community,” they wrote. “This is a calculated effort to undermine Judge Guy Mitchell. By granting this stay, the appellate court has signaled that the expertise and authority of a veteran Black jurist — and the decision of a jury of our peers — mean nothing when they conflict with the interests of the ‘Blue Wall.’
“It is a slap in the face to every New Yorker who believes that no one is above the law. While thousands of Black and Brown New Yorkers languish in Rikers Island without ever being convicted of a crime, a man found guilty of manslaughter is allowed to walk free because of a back-door legal maneuver.”
The post Update: Officer charged with manslaughter released on bail pending appeal appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.
