Man fleeing drug bust on scooter dies when undercover NYPD cop throws cooler at him: sources

A scooter-riding suspect trying to flee a Bronx drug bust died when an undercover NYPD sergeant threw a cooler at him – prompting the department to suspend the cop and warn its rank-and-file about possible “unrest” Thursday, police sources said.

The sergeant, identified by the NYPD as Erik Duran, was conducting a buy-and-bust operation on Aqueduct Avenue near West 190th Street in Kingsbridge Heights around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday when the suspect, Eric Duprey, 30, took off, the sources said.

Duran allegedly chucked what’s believed to be a plastic cooler at the fleeing man — causing him to lose control of his motorized scooter, strike a parked car and fall to the ground, according to the sources.

He suffered trauma to his body and was pronounced dead by EMS workers at the site of the crash.

Police sources said Duprey sold drugs to an undercover cop, prompting officers to go arrest him and the suspect to hop on his motorbike and drive erratically in the street and up on a sidewalk while speeding.

Surveillance video obtained by The Post shows the moment the white cooler strikes Duprey, who is shown fleeing on his scooter from the sidewalk onto the street. He tumbles off his ride as multiple bystanders surround him. 

The sergeant cannot clearly be seen in the video. 

Duran was suspended Thursday, the NYPD said in a statement. 

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“Early today, New York City Police Department Sergeant Erik Duran was suspended from duty without pay following a fatal incident in the Bronx on Wednesday afternoon involving a man attempting to flee from the police on a motorcycle,” the department said in an official statement. 

“The city’s medical examiner will determine the cause of death.”

An alert that went out internally to those in the department, and was obtained by The Post, warned officers that the incident could spark a strong public reaction. 

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“We had an incident in the Bronx with narcotics that is high potential for unrest,” the memo said. 

The notice advised officers to remind colleagues to keep their helmets and batons in their police cruisers and to set up barricades, especially at historic locations.

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State Attorney General Letitia James’ office was leading the investigation into the fatal encounter, with the help of the NYPD’s Force Investigation Division, the department said in its statement.

“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 statement said.

Duprey, of the Bronx, had at least two previous arrests, including an open felony assault case in the Bronx from June 2022 for allegedly throwing a two-litre bottle of soda through someone’s driver-side window, sources said. 

He was also arrested in a drug case this March, according to the sources.