Man on motorbike fleeing undercover agents dies when NYPD officer throws cooler at him

NEW YORK — A man riding a motorbike while fleeing undercover agents in New York City died on Wednesday after a police sergeant threw a cooler at him and knocked him off his vehicle, authorities said.

>> Read more trending news

The incident took place in the Bronx, according to a statement from the New York Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigation. The officer, Erik Duran, was suspended without pay on Thursday, the New York City Police Department said in a statement posted on social media.

The man on the motorbike, Eric Duprey, 30, was fleeing narcotics officers attempting to arrest him, according to The New York Times. He was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the newspaper.

Police said Bronx narcotics officers were doing an undercover drug bust at about 5:28 p.m. EDT on Wednesday when they said Duprey was caught dealing to one of the undercover agents and drove off on a gas-powered motorbike provided to him, motoring away on a sidewalk, WCBS-TV reported.

Moments later at another intersection, a surveillance video reviewed by Times and confirmed by police shows Duprey heading toward a group of about 10 people sitting at a table.

Video allegedly showed Duran, 35, throwing a plastic cooler at Duprey, who lost control of the vehicle, fell and hit his head on the ground, according to the television station. The vehicle had skidded into a tree and then a Jeep Cherokee, the Times reported.

Surrounding officers rushed to Duprey and called for an ambulance. Emergency service workers arrived three minutes later, according to the newspaper. Duprey was pronounced dead at 5:35 p.m.

Duran, a 13-year veteran of the department, had been assigned to Narcotics Borough Bronx for nearly a year, the Times reported.

“Seeing the video, it’s kind of unnerving,” David Sarni, a retired NYPD detective and an adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, told WCBS. “I can’t say one way or another if it’s right or wrong.

“I’ve done cases, operations, takedowns where we’ve done things that are very unorthodox.”

On Thursday, Duprey’s wife, Orlyanis Velez, sat next to a growing memorial near the site of her husband’s death, the Times reported.

“Why you gotta kill him?” Velez told WCBS.

Police declined to specify what drugs Duprey was accused of selling, according to The Associated Press.

According to the office of Attorney General Letitia James, the Office of Special Investigation assessed all incidents “where a police officer or a peace officer, including a corrections officer, may have caused the death of a person by an act or omission.”

“Under the law, the officer may be on-duty or off-duty, and the decedent may be armed or unarmed. Also, the decedent may or may not be in custody or incarcerated,” according to the statement. “If OSI’s assessment indicates an officer may have caused the death, OSI proceeds to conduct a full investigation of the incident.”

“The NYPD is committed to ensuring there will be a full, thorough, and transparent investigation of this incident to determine the facts and to take the appropriate steps forward,” the NYPD news release stated.