Who was Eric Duprey? Suspect dies after NYPD sergeant throws a cooler at him during drug bust
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: A police sergeant in New York City, Erik Duran, has been suspended without pay after he threw a plastic cooler at a man named Eric Duprey, 30.
The man was fleeing a drug bust on a motorcycle and the cooler caused him to crash ultimately resulting in his death, authorities reportedly said on Wednesday
How did the crash happen?
The incident, which was captured on surveillance video, was reported by the Associated Press. It occurred at the University Heights section of the Bronx.
It happened in the Bronx on Wednesday morning, when plainclothes officers tried to arrest the 30-year-old man for allegedly selling drugs, according to the NYPD.
The video as seen by the publication shows the man driving on the sidewalk toward a group of people who appear to be undercover cops.
One of them, identified as Duran, picks up a red cooler and hurls it at the man’s head from close range.
The man then loses control of his motorcycle, hits a tree and a parked car, and falls to the ground. The bike then smashes into a metal barricade before coming to rest against a parked car.
The man was pronounced dead minutes later
The man was pronounced dead minutes later, police said. His name has not been released.
The New York Attorney General’s office, which investigates deaths involving police, is looking into the case. The NYPD is said to be cooperating.
“The NYPD is committed to ensuring that there will be a full, thorough, and transparent investigation of this incident to determine the facts and to take the appropriate steps forward,” the department said in a statement.
Who is Erik Duran?
Duran joined the NYPD in 2010 and has received dozens of awards for his police service, according to a police database reported by the publication.
However, he also has a record of abusing his authority during a stop last year, according to the city’s Civilian Complaint Review Board."
Duprey, 30, had fled as plainclothes narcotics unit officers tried to arrest him on suspicion of selling drugs in what’s known as a “buy-and-bust” operation, according to police ABC News reported.
How many children does Eric Duprey have?
The Daily Mail reported that Eric is survived by wife and three children. CBS New York reported two.
The neighbours have erected a memorial for him a the crash site. "I've got to be honest, it was wrong. I feel like what the officer did, it was - I don't think it's protocol.
"I honestly think that if this individual wasn't stopping or cooperating, I feel like they should let him go, at the end of the day," neighbor Erik DeJesus said.
"He was a humble dude. He always looked out for the neighborhood," DeJesus said. The mother of Eric Duprey's two children did not want to go on camera. She called the incident an abuse of power.
A 42-year-old man, whose cooler was used during the ordeal, told NYDailyNews. "[Eric] was on the bike, moving north when the cops started chasing him.
"Then he took a U-turn and was riding on the sidewalk. The cop then took my cooler, which was filled with soda cans, and water bottles, and hit him," he added.
