NYPD Fatal Cooler Throw

FILE - Gretchen Soto, the mother of Eric Duprey, speaks outside the Bronx Criminal Court in New York, Feb. 6, 2026, after New York police officer Erik Duran was convicted of manslaughter after he tossed a picnic cooler filled with drinks at a fleeing Duprey, causing him to fatally crash his motorized scooter.

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Former NYPD officer gets 3 to 9 years in prison for throwing a cooler that caused fatal crash

Former NYPD officer gets 3 to 9 years in prison for throwing a cooler that caused fatal crash

A former New York City police officer has been sentenced to three to nine years in prison for tossing a picnic cooler full of drinks at a fleeing suspect, who then crashed his motorized scooter and died. Former Sgt. Erik Duran was convicted of manslaughter in the 2023 death of Eric Duprey. Duran had pleaded not guilty. He testified at trial that he was trying to protect other officers from the approaching scooter on a Bronx sidewalk. Prosecutors argued the sergeant had enough time to warn others but tossed the cooler in frustration. Duran is the first former NYPD officer sentenced to prison for an on-duty death in at least two decades.