New York City police officer convicted of manslaughter in cooler throwing death

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City police officer was convicted Friday of second-degree manslaughter after he tossed a picnic cooler filled with drinks at a fleeing suspect, causing the man to fatally crash his motorized scooter.

Judge Guy Mitchell handed down the guilty verdict Friday in Bronx criminal court in the case against Sgt. Erik Duran in the 2023 death of Eric Duprey.

“The fact that the defendant is a police officer has no bearing," the judge said before reading out his verdict in a brief hearing. "He's a person and will be treated as any other defendant.”

Members of Duprey’s family sobbed as the decision was read out. Orlyanis Velez, Duprey’s wife, said after that she was happy but also surprised.

“I was waiting for justice just like everybody, but when the moment happens, you can’t believe it’s happening,” she said outside of the courthouse. “It’s been a lot of time. These people been killing citizens, been killing everybody. They don’t give no reason.”

Duran didn’t appear to react when the decision was handed down and his lawyers didn’t comment after. But the police sergeants union called the verdict a “miscarriage of justice."

“Verdicts such as this send a terrible message to hard-working cops: should you use force to defend yourself, your fellow police officers or the citizens of the City, no matter how justified your actions, you risk criminal charges and conviction,” Vincent Vallelong, president of the Sergeants Benevolent Association said.

Duran had been suspended with pay pending the trial, but the department confirmed Friday he was dismissed following his conviction, as state law mandates. Duran now faces up to 15 years in prison when he's sentenced March 19.

State Attorney General Letitia James, whose office prosecuted the case, offered her condolences to Duprey’s family.

“Though it cannot return Eric to his loved ones, today’s decision gives justice to his memory,” she said in a statement.

The 38-year-old Duran, who was the first New York Police Department officer in years to be tried for killing someone while on duty, also faced charges of criminally negligent homicide and assault.

But Mitchell dismissed the assault count earlier, saying prosecutors failed to show he intended to hurt Duprey. He also didn’t deliver a verdict on the criminally negligent homicide charge as he’d already found Duran guilty of the more serious manslaughter charge.

Duran had pleaded not guilty and opted for a bench trial, meaning the judge, not a jury, would render the verdict.

Authorities say that on Aug. 23, 2023, Duprey sold drugs to an undercover officer in the Bronx and then fled.

Duran, who had been part of a narcotics unit conducting the operation, is seen in security footage grabbing a nearby red cooler and quickly hurling it at Duprey in an attempt to stop him.

The container full of ice, water and sodas struck Duprey, who lost control of the scooter, slammed into a tree and crashed onto the pavement before landing under a parked car.

Prosecutors said the 30-year-old, who was not wearing a helmet, sustained fatal head injuries and died almost instantaneously.

Duran, testifying in his own defense this week, said he only had seconds to react and was trying to protect other officers from Duprey as he sped toward them. He told the court he immediately tried to render aid after seeing the extent of Duprey’s injuries.

“He was gonna crash into us,” Duran said in court. “I didn’t have time. All I had time for was to try again to stop or to try to get him to change directions. That’s all I had the time to think of.”

But prosecutors maintained Duprey didn’t pose a threat and that his death wasn’t accidental but the result of Duran’s reckless, negligent and intentional actions.

They suggested the officer had enough time to warn others to move, but instead tossed the cooler in anger and frustration.

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New York police officer Erik Duran who is charged with hurling a plastic cooler at a man fleeing officers on a motorized scooter, causing a crash that killed the driver, arrives to his manslaughter trial at the Bronx Criminal Court in New York, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Kena Betancur)

Hawk Newsome speaks accompanied by Gretchen Sotoaw, the mother of Eric Duprey, outside the Bronx Criminal Court in New York, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, after New York police officer Erik Duran who was convicted of manslaughter after he tossed a picnic cooler filled with drinks at a fleeing Duprey, causing him to fatally crash his motorized scooter. (AP Photo/Kena Betancur)

Gretchen Sotoaw, the mother of Eric Duprey, speaks outside the Bronx Criminal Court in New York, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, after New York police officer Erik Duran who was convicted of manslaughter after he tossed a picnic cooler filled with drinks at a fleeing Duprey, causing him to fatally crash his motorized scooter. (AP Photo/Kena Betancur)

New York police officer Erik Duran who is charged with hurling a plastic cooler at a man fleeing officers on a motorized scooter, causing a crash that killed the driver, arrives to his manslaughter trial at the Bronx Criminal Court in New York, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Kena Betancur)

FILE - A memorial for Eric Duprey is seen in the Bronx borough of New York, Aug. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jake Offenhartz, File)

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee coach Doc Rivers reiterated Friday that the Bucks have no plans to shut down Giannis Antetokounmpo for the rest of the season, though the two-time MVP’s return date from a calf strain remains uncertain.

Rivers spoke on the issue during the Bucks’ pregame availability a day after the trade deadline passed with Antetokounmpo remaining in Milwaukee. Antetokounmpo’s future had been the center of attention across the league in the weeks leading up to the deadline.

“He’s going to play when he’s healthy,” Rivers said before the Bucks' 105-99 victory over the Indiana Pacers. “We’ve just got to make sure he’s healthy. He’s getting close. He’s working out. He looks good. I would say hopefully sooner than later.”

The Bucks, who are 12th in the Eastern Conference standings, potentially could help their draft status by continuing to rest Antetokounmpo. Milwaukee will pick either in its own spot or in New Orleans’ spot in the first round, depending on which spot is less favorable.

Milwaukee is 15-15 with Antetokounmpo and 6-14 without him.

Antetokounmpo hasn’t played since straining his right calf on Jan. 23. Antetokounmpo said the night of the injury that he expected to be told he would miss four to six weeks, though the Bucks haven’t specified any timetable.

Whether Antetokounmpo is playing or not, his mere presence after the trade deadline lifted the spirits of the Bucks. They’d been dealing pretty much all season with reports that their star player was on the way out.

“It definitely addresses the elephant that we had in the room for the past few weeks, month or so,” guard Gary Harris said. “Now it’s time to focus, lock in. Rumors, speculation, all that stuff is done.”

Milwaukee responded Friday by winning a third straight game for the first time all season.

As the deadline passed, Antetokounmpo issued a social media post with the message: “Legends don’t chase. They attract,” accompanying a meme of the scene from the movie “The Wolf of Wall Street” in which Leonardo DiCaprio's character repeatedly yells, “I'm not leaving."

Bucks forward Bobby Portis said Antetokounmpo also had texted him a deer emoji and a 100 sign on Thursday.

“I think it was a relief,” Rivers said. “I thought Giannis’ tweet was a unifying thing for all the players as well.”

Rivers had been steadfast throughout the season in saying the speculation surrounding Antetokounmpo’s potential exit was overblown.

“I kept saying it, but no one wanted to hear it,” Rivers said. “I don’t think I ever wavered on what was going to happen. It bothered me because the talk was almost like people were trying to manifest him out of Milwaukee. But I’m glad it’s over.”

It’s not really over, though. The uncertainty surrounding Antetokounmpo’s future has just been pushed back a bit.

Antetokounmpo could remain with the Bucks for just a few more months or for years to come.

He becomes eligible to sign a four-year contract extension worth up to $275 million in October. Antetokounmpo has one year remaining on the three-year, $186 million extension he signed in 2023, though he also has a $62.8 million player option for 2027-28.

Antetokounmpo repeatedly has said he loves playing in Milwaukee, but he also has talked about how much he wants to play on a team that's committed to competing for championships. He led the Bucks to their first title in half a century in 2021.

Milwaukee has made plenty of moves designed at lengthening its championship window over the last few years, yet the Bucks have lost in the first round of the playoffs each of the last three seasons. Their slow start this season has put their streak of nine straight playoff berths in serious jeopardy.

General manager Jon Horst’s mission is to show Antetokounmpo the Bucks can return to title contention in short order if the nine-time all-NBA forward sticks around.

Horst has done it before.

Antetokounmpo signed one contract extension in 2020 after the Bucks acquired Jrue Holiday, a move that sparked Milwaukee to its 2021 championship. He signed another extension in 2023 after the Bucks made another blockbuster move to bring Damian Lillard to Milwaukee.

Horst showed his willingness to be creative in overhauling Milwaukee’s roster last summer, when he waived the injured Lillard and stretched out the remaining money the Bucks owed him over the next five seasons to gain the cap flexibility to sign Myles Turner.

Horst now faces a similar challenge keeping Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee, as the 31-year-old superstar's future figures to become a dominant storyline again once the offseason arrives.

“Being on a team with Giannis all these years, it's like an every-year thing,” Portis said. “You've just got to prepare for it. As soon as May comes, if our season ends and whenever it does, it's coming right back. There ain't nothing you can run from, for real. It's just what comes with it. It's off for now, but to be determined later, I guess. The rumors, the narratives, the whatever it is, it's non-stop.”

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo watches from the bench during the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo blows a bubble on the bench during the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)