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A former New York<\/a> police department sergeant has been sentenced to three to nine years in prison for tossing a picnic cooler full of ice and drinks at a fleeing suspect, who then crashed his motorized scooter and died.<\/p>\n Erik Duran, 38, was convicted<\/a> of manslaughter in the 2023 death of 30-year-old Eric Duprey. The ex-sergeant said he was trying to protect other officers from the approaching scooter. He is the first former NYPD officer sentenced to prison for an on-duty death in at least two decades.<\/p>\n \u201cI took this job to save lives. I felt terrible once I saw Eric Duprey crash,\u201d Duran told a Bronx judge, saying he \u201cdid everything he could\u201d to attend to the man\u2019s injuries.<\/p>\n \u201cI never wanted this to happen,\u201d he added, apologizing to Duprey\u2019s family in Spanish as a court interpreter translated.<\/p>\n Duprey\u2019s mother, Gretchen Soto, wept as Duran spoke. Earlier, she told the court: \u201cThere are no words to express what I feel.\u201d<\/p>\n Judge Guy Mitchell said he did not accept the ex-sergeant\u2019s defense that his actions were justified, concluding that Duran hurled the cooler because he \u201cwas upset that Mr Duprey was getting away\u201d. If there was no cooler, the judge said, Duprey \u201cwould have driven by\u201d Duran and \u201ccould\u2019ve been captured another day\u201d.<\/p>\n Duran was immediately taken into custody after sentencing. His lawyer, Arthur Aidala, said he will ask a court to free Duran on bail while he appeals.<\/p>\n \u201cNobody\u2019s above the law,\u201d a woman shouted in a courthouse hallway after the sentence was announced.<\/p>\n Afterward, Soto and Duprey\u2019s partner, Pearl Velez, said they did not accept Duran\u2019s apology.<\/p>\n \u201cHow you gonna say sorry now?\u201d Velez said.<\/p>\n Duran\u2019s union, the Sergeants Benevolent Association, said thousands of officers signed an online petition calling for him to be spared prison.<\/p>\n \u201cToday will forever be the darkest day of our profession,\u201d union president Vincent Vallelong said. Duran\u2019s prison sentence, he said, \u201cputs in the back of a police officer\u2019s mind that they can lose their freedom\u201d for making a split-second decision.<\/p>\n Officers in NYPD<\/a> jackets packed the courtroom gallery, while a couple of dozen protesters outside demanded justice for Duprey.<\/p>\n Duran\u2019s sentence, less than the maximum of five to 15 years, matched what prosecutors with state attorney general Letitia James\u2019 office had sought. Prosecutor Joseph Bianco said the ex-sergeant recklessly caused Duprey\u2019s death and attempted to cover up his actions.<\/p>\n Defense lawyer Andrew Quinn argued for no prison time, calling Duprey\u2019s death the \u201cunintended and tragic consequences\u201d of a \u201creckless decision\u201d Duran made in a span of two and a half seconds.<\/p>\n Duran grew up in the Bronx and led a \u201cmodel, exemplary life\u201d prior to Duprey\u2019s death. A married father of three, he joined the NYPD because he wanted to make the borough \u201ccleaner and safer for the kids who came after him\u201d, Quinn said.<\/p>\n \u201cHe is now the cooler cop,\u201d Quinn said.<\/p>\n