A Bronx judge on Friday delivered a bench verdict of guilty in the state’s manslaughter case against 38 year-old NYPD Sgt Erik Duran in the fatal August 2023 Igloo cooler-ing of 30 year-old drug dealing suspect Erik Duprey, WABC reports. Duran and his squad had just caught Duprey – also a DoorDash driver – selling an unspecified quantity of an unspecified narcotic substance to an undercover cop when Duprey jumped back on his electric bike and attempted to flee the scene.
Duran then picked up a mid-sized red Igloo cooler and flung it at Duprey, causing the suspect to lose control of his electric bike and suffer a fatal head injury after crashing into a tree. It’s not clear when the last time an NYPD officer used anything other than a gun, a taser, or a squad car to kill a fleeing suspect. Also unclear is whom the cooler belonged to and if they’ll get it back now that the trial is over. Prosecutors with the New York Attorney General’s office displayed it in court during the trial.