Erik Duran, a New York City police sergeant charged in the death of a man after he hurled a plastic cooler at a fleeing driver on a motorized scooter, told the court Monday that he acted to prevent fellow officers from being hurt. Duran testified at his manslaughter trial that he was not trying to injure Eric Duprey when he threw the cooler full of ice, water and sodas in August 2023, describing a split-second decision as he watched Duprey approach officers while fleeing.
Prosecutors have said Duprey had just sold drugs to an undercover officer when he tried to drive off. They said Duran hurled the cooler at him, triggering a crash in which Duprey lost control of his scooter, struck a tree and then fell to the pavement, where prosecutors said he suffered fatal head injuries and died “almost instantaneously.”
During direct testimony, Duran, 38, told the court that he acted because he believed Duprey was about to crash into officers. “He was gonna crash into us,” Duran said. “I mean, I didn’t have time. All I had time for was to try again to stop or to try to get him to change directions. That’s all I had the time to think of.”
Duran testified that Duprey was not his target for injury and that his actions were aimed at stopping him. He also disputed prosecutors’ characterization of the cooler, telling the court he did not think it was heavy, and he said that after the crash he immediately tried to help Duprey when he saw his injuries. Duran testified that he began checking whether Duprey could hear him and that he then noticed Duprey’s condition.
“I said, ‘Can you hear me? Can you hear me?’ And then I started to notice his injury, and he was in bad shape,” Duran testified. He said he acted as soon as he saw Duprey was hurt, presenting his conduct after the collision as consistent with helping rather than causing harm.
Prosecutors, including Joseph Bianco, challenged the defense account during cross-examination. Bianco asked Duran whether he had warned other officers about the approaching scooter, and Duran said he did not have time. Bianco then pointed to what he said Duran did have time to do, asking the sergeant about taking steps to move out of the scooter’s path instead of grabbing the cooler with both hands.
Authorities also said Duprey was not wearing a helmet. Prosecutors’ account tied that fact to the injuries they described as fatal, with Duprey suffering head injuries in the crash, according to testimony in the case.
In addition to the manslaughter charge, Duran faces criminally negligent homicide and assault charges. The case is being prosecuted as a nonjury trial by the New York attorney general’s office, which investigates civilian deaths during encounters with law enforcement, according to testimony and charging information described in court coverage.
Closing arguments were scheduled for Tuesday, as the trial moved toward its final phase on whether the court finds Duran’s actions met the legal standards for the charges prosecutors have brought.