When NYPD Sgt. Erik Duran left his Putnam County home on Aug. 23, 2023, he had no plan to cause the death of Eric Duprey.
In the moment that he chose to hurl a cooler at Duprey as he attempted to flee an alleged buy-and-bust drug arrest on a motorized scooter, the intent was to stop him from careering into other officers and civilians — it was not meant to cause Duprey’s death.
Tragically, the cooler struck Duprey, causing him to crash and sustain a fatal head injury. He was not wearing a helmet.
Bronx County Judge Guy Mitchell convicted Duran of second-degree manslaughter back in February.
Duran was fired from his job leading a narcotics unit for the NYPD.
Intent was to save lives, not take one
Duran has expressed remorse and regret for his instantaneous decision. He will live with that regret for the rest of his life.
During his April 9 sentencing hearing, Duran apologized to Duprey’s family, telling them that he “never wanted this to happen.”
Duran said, “All I had time for was to try again to stop or to try to get him to change directions,” Duran said, according to CNN. “He was gonna crash into us.”
Ultimately, Mitchell meted out a three-to-nine-year prison term for Duran.
Duran’s regret will never make up for the Duprey family’s loss, but neither will the prison term the decorated 13-year NYPD veteran received.
Duran has been temporarily released from an upstate prison while Mitchell’s decision is reviewed at the appellate level.
Undercover narcotics cops don’t have the benefit of deliberation
Police officers — especially undercover narcotics cops like Duran — are faced with danger every time they go to work.
They are regularly forced to make decisions without time for deliberation. Those instincts often save lives of fellow officers and the public. In Duprey’s case, we don’t know what other tragedy might have happened had he continued to speed down that sidewalk.
Fleeing cops on a motorbike without a helmet is inherently dangerous.
Assemblyman Matt Slater, a Republican from Yorktown, was joined by dozens of his fellow lawmakers from around the state last week in sending a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul, urging her to pardon Duran of his manslaughter conviction.
Duran is a resident of Slater’s district.
“This is a case where a law enforcement officer was forced to make a split-second decision to protect lives,” Slater wrote to Hochul. “When officers act in good faith to prevent immediate danger, we must ensure they are treated fairly under the law.”
More than 11,000 cops from around the U.S. signed a petition asking Mitchell to impose a sentence that did not include incarceration.
Mitchell said he intended the prison sentence to be a “deterrent” to other officers.
But deterring them from what?
From taking instinctive actions in real time that save lives?
Kathy Hochul can stop compounding a tragedy
The action of Duran in August 2023 resulted in horrific unintended consequences. But this prison sentence sends the wrong message to law enforcement officers.
Their work is dangerous and we need them to trust that when they take action to stop a threat and those actions hurt or even kill the person posing the threat, they won’t lose their freedom if their intent was righteous.
Governor Hochul, do not allow this man to be taken away from his wife and children for years.
It sends the wrong message to cops, and it won’t bring Duprey back.
It will compound the damage this tragedy has already inflicted.
Governor, use your power of clemency to pardon Duran.
Matt Richter, a veteran Hudson Valley journalist, is local news and regional opinion manager for lohud.com and The Journal News. He can be reached at mrichter@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Governor Hochul, do the right thing. Pardon Sgt. Erik Duran | Opinion
Reporting by Matt Richter, Rockland/Westchester Journal News / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
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