Former NYPD Sgt. Erik Duran, the man convicted of throwing a cooler at a fleeing suspect in the Bronx, was sentenced Thursday to 3-9 years behind bars.
Photo by Dean Moses
Former NYPD Sgt. Erik Duran, the man convicted of throwing a cooler at a fleeing suspect in the Bronx, was sentenced Thursday to 3-9 years behind bars.
Duran, dressed in a suit, let a single tear trickle down his face as his defense team made an impassioned argument as to why he should not face prison time. They called him a good cop, a man who spent his time in the department working to make the Bronx community better.
Rising to his feet, his eyes still watery, he himself pleaded with the judge for leniency.
“The environment that I was raised in was always surrounded by the criminal element. I was eight years old when someone started shooting at me and my family on Thanksgiving. I was 13 years old when 9/11 happened,” Duran said with balled up fists. “I’ve been exposed to levels of violence that a very limited amount of cops experience. I’ve seen my lieutenant shot, I’ve seen my cops shot. I’ve been bitten, broken skin. I needed surgeries on ligaments. I was leading a team that took an unprecedented amount of guns off to the streets.”
Duran then turned to the mother of Eric Duprey, the man he was convicted of killing, Gretchen Sotoaw, and asked for forgiveness.
“I never wanted this to happen. I pray for you and your family,” and then turned back to the judge. “Your Honor, I’m asking for a chance to be there for my kids.”
Duran, a narcotics sergeant, was caught on camera on August 23, 2023, tossing a cooler filled with ice at Duprey as he fled on a scooter. Duprey had been caught selling drugs and was fleeing the scene when prosecutors from the Attorney General’s Office say Duran became frustrated and threw the cooler. Duprey lost control of the scooter and suffered several fractures and a brain bleed. He died at the scene.
While Judge Guy Mitchell told the court that he believed Duran was genuinely sorry for his actions, he said he believed that Duran was not in any immediate danger and could have allowed Duprey to flee, where he could be recaptured down the line. It is with this in mind that he sentenced Duran to 3-9 years imprisonment.
Duran did not react when the sentence was handed down, but his legal team immediately jumped into action, calling for a one-week stay of the sentence while they filed an appeal. Jude Mitchell denied this request and ordered him to be immediately taken into custody, where he will be held on the infamous Rikers Island.
Law enforcement officials swiftly reacted and condemned the decision.
“Today will be forever remembered as one of the darkest days in the history of our profession. It wasn’t only Sgt. Duran, a great cop, who was on trial. 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,” Sergeant Benevolent Association President Vincent Vallelong said.
Meanwhile, activists and Duprey’s family left the courtroom triumphantly. With their arms raised high, they chanted “say his name!” As they left the proceedings.
“Today, the blue wall has crumbled,” Black Lives Matter Greater New York co-founder Chivona Newsome said. “Whether you’re a Puerto Rican from the Bronx or you’re a wealthy person in this city today, we all have justice. No one’s above the law.”
Gretchen Sotoaw briefly spoke in Spanish following the sentencing, thanking those who rallied around her, adding that she did not accept Duran’s apology.
