NYPD Cop Hurled Cooler At Motorbike Rider Killed In Crash, AG Says

NEW YORK CITY — A motorcyclist died after a New York City cop threw a cooler at him, spurring the NYPD to suspend the officer and Attorney General Letitia James to investigate, officials announced Thursday.

Officer Erik Duran hurled the cooler at biker Eric Duprey near the corner of Aqueduct Avenue and West 190th Street in The Bronx Wednesday evening, according to the Attorney General's office.

Duprey was thrown to the ground, dying before medics could even take him to the hospital, according to James.

Duran was suspended without pay Thursday morning, said police, promising a transparent internal investigation.

"The NYPD is committed to ensuring that there will be a full, thorough, and transparent investigation," the department said.

The cooler was filled with soda cans and water bottles, its owner told the Daily News, first to report the deadly crash.

The News also found video of Duran — a suspect in a "buy-and-bust" — riding on the sidewalk before the cooler threw him off the bike.

A family having a party witnessed the fatal crash, and someone who asked a cops what happened was told it was "an accident."

"Just go away," the cop reportedly said.

Duran joined the force in 2010 and is currently assigned to The Bronx's narcotics squad a sergeant detective, city records show.

The Bronx cop settled a civil lawsuit filed in 2019 from a man who detailed a violent stop-and-frisk that News Years Day.

The Bronx man was waiting for an ambulance to arrive for his injured brother when a group of cops, including Duran, threw him to the ground, punched him in the face and tasered him until he lost consciousness, the lawsuit contends.

The man — later found not guilty of all charges brought against him — was thrown in a 44th Precinct jail cell, where he begged to know why he'd been detained.

The lawsuit, settled out of court in 2020, says no one would tell him.