By The newspaper
Aug 25, 2023, 12:34 PM EDT
New York police sergeant Erik Duran has been suspended without pay after he allegedly threw an object at a fleeing suspect on a motorcycle, causing him to fatally fall in the Bronx.
Police said Eric Duprey, 30, died of injuries sustained Wednesday night at 190th Street and Aqueduct Avenue in University Heights. The New York State Attorney General’s Office is investigating the incident as it occurs when an officer is involved in the death of a suspect.
Surveillance video captured Duprey fleeing down the Aqueduct Avenue sidewalk on a motorcycle when the force of a cooler thrown at him caused him to lose control, crash into a vehicle and hit his head. He was pronounced dead at the scene, reported The New York Times.
The coroner has not announced the official cause of death. Police said Sgt. Duran was in civilian clothes when he threw the cooler during a buy-out operation to arrest Duprey on suspicion of selling narcotics.
Orlyanis Vélez, the mother of Duprey’s two children, questioned Durán’s actions, calling the incident an abuse of power. “There was no reason to kill him. He didn’t have any weapons. I had nothing against him. Why do you have to kill him?” she declared to CBS News.
NYPD said it is cooperating with the investigation. “The NYPD is committed to ensuring that there will be a full, thorough, and transparent investigation into this incident to determine the facts and take appropriate action,” according to a statement.
Several motorists have been killed in the city in recent days, including a suspected robber who was fleeing and crashed into a truck and an MTA bus last week in the Bronx.