Ex-NYPD Sgt. Erik Duran released on $300K bail as he appeals Bronx manslaughter conviction

A state appellate judge has ordered Sgt. Erik Duran released on $300,000 bail as Duran fights his manslaughter conviction for killing a drug-deal suspect in the Bronx by hurling a heavy, ice-filled cooler at him, his union said Friday.

Several attorneys for the Sergeants Benevolent Association, including Andrew Quinn, Arthur Aidala, and Barry Kamins, a retired Criminal Court judge, secured the bail approval Friday morning.

“We are very pleased but not surprised that the Appellate Division found that there are legitimate appellate issues in Sgt. Duran’s case,” Aidala told the Daily News. “It was obvious to the court that he is not a flight risk nor a danger to the community and was entitled to be at home with his family during pendency of the appeal.”

Duran, who has been sitting in the Elmira Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison, for the last week, while serving his three to nine-year sentence for killing Eric Duprey, will be released as soon as possible and allowed to return to his family as he appeals Judge Guy Mitchell’s verdict, SBA President Vincent Vallelong said.

“He will be released from prison and remain free during his appeal,” Vallelong said on social media. “This is a major win for Erik and his family and for law enforcement officers around the country!”

Vallelong said Mitchell’s sentencing Duran to a maximum security prison was an “atrocious thing to do” and caused him to “lose a little faith in the justice system.”

“The tireless work done by our attorneys brought the appeal forth,” Vellelong said. He added that the SBA has received a huge response from its fundraising drive for Duran’s legal expenses, which included an ad shown on a jumbotron at a recent Islanders game at USB Arena. “But its the support of the people that means the most,” he said. “It’s really appreciated by the Duran family.”

The $300,000 bail ordered by Appeals Judge Saliann Scarpulla was actually less than the $500,000 that Mitchell set during the trial, attorneys said.

After being caught on body-worn camera selling cocaine to an undercover officer  on Aug. 23, 2023, Duprey, 30, jumped on a motorbike and fled a drug bust at Aqueduct Ave. near W. 192nd St. in Kingsbridge Heights. He was speeding down the sidewalk, about to crash into a group of officers, when Duran, in an attempt to stop Duprey, lifted the cooler loaded with ice and drinks and, using both hands, hurled it at the suspect.

Duprey, who wasn’t wearing a helmet, lost control, sideswiped a tree and was thrown off the scooter. He struck his head on the curb and landed under a parked vehicle.

Attorney Jonathan Roberts said Duprey’s family was “deeply disappointed” by the appellate judge’s decision.

“While we respect the appellate process, this outcome reopens painful wounds for a family that has already endured an immense loss,” he said. “Our focus remains on seeking accountability and ensuring that the seriousness of what occurred is never diminished.”

The decision drew the ire of members of Black Lives Matter of Greater New York, who lobbied for Mitchell to hit Duran with the full 15-year sentence.

Black Lives Matter co-founders Hawk and Chivona Newsome said giving Duran bail as he appealed the conviction was “an appalling miscarriage of justice that reveals the deep rot within our legal system.”

“While thousands of Black and Brown New Yorkers languish in Rikers Island without ever being convicted of a crime, a man found guilty of manslaughter is allowed to walk free because of a backdoor legal maneuver,” they said. “This is not justice. It is systematic sabotage.”