AG Indicts Hudson Valley Resident, NYPD Sergeant, In Ice-Cooler Death

PUTNAM COUNTY, NY — Putnam County resident Erik Duran, a sergeant in the New York City Police Department, has been indicted over the August death of a suspected drug dealer fleeing a bust in the Bronx.

The indictment and arraignment of Duran, 37, on charges of Manslaughter in the Second Degree, Assault in the First and Second Degrees, and Criminally Negligent Homicide were announced Tuesday by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

According to the indictment, at 5 p.m. Aug. 23, members of the NYPD Narcotics Borough Bronx Tactical Response Unit team, of which Duran was an undercover member, arrived on Aqueduct Avenue between West 190th and 192nd Streets in the Bronx to conduct their fourth “buy-and-bust” operation, or undercover drug purchase, of the day, prosecutors said.

NBBX team members encountered Duprey and attempted to arrest him, at which point he got on a motorized scooter and fled, prosecutors alleged.

As Duprey rode the scooter toward West 190th Street, Duran grabbed a civilian’s cooler off of a nearby table and threw it "forcefully" striking Duprey in the head and causing him to lose control of the scooter, prosecutors said.

Duprey sideswiped a tree before he was thrown from the scooter and hit his head on the curb, landing under a parked vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene, prosecutors said.

Duran was suspended and later placed on modified duty following the incident.

At his arraignment, State Supreme Court Justice George Villegas set bail at $150,000 bond or partially secured bond, with $150,000 cash alternative. Duran is due back in court on April 18, according to the AG's announcement.

The maximum sentence on the top charge is 25 years in prison.

Pursuant to New York Executive Law Section 70-b, the Office of the Attorney General’s (OAG) Office of Special Investigation (OSI) assesses every incident reported to it where a police officer or a peace officer, including a corrections officer, may have caused the death of a person by an act or omission. Under the law, the officer may be on-duty or off-duty, and the decedent may be armed or unarmed. Also, the decedent may or may not be in custody or incarcerated. If OSI’s assessment indicates an officer may have caused the death, OSI proceeds to conduct a full investigation of the incident.

The charges against the defendant are accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.