Man on motorbike dies after NYPD officer throws cooler at him, AG says

A New York City police sergeant was suspended Thursday, a day after he allegedly threw a picnic cooler at a man on a motorbike who subsequently crashed and died, authorities said.

The police department said that the man on the motorbike was fleeing from officers in the Bronx on Wednesday when the incident occurred.

Sgt. Erik Duran was suspended without pay, the NYPD said.

The New York State Attorney General’s Office identified the person who died as Eric Duprey. The office said its Office of Special Investigation is investigating the incident.

“The cooler hit Mr. Duprey and caused him to fall on the ground. Mr. Duprey was pronounced dead at the scene,” the attorney general’s office said in a statement.

Surveillance video shown by NBC New York shows the encounter, and what appears to be the white cooler striking the motorbike rider. The rider then crashes.

Video shown by NBC New York appears to show that the person who threw the cooler is not in uniform.

The medical examiner’s office will determine the cause of death, the police department said.

Police said Duprey tried to flee after he was caught selling drugs to an undercover officer, and that the sergeant was standing on the sidewalk as part of the “buy-and-bust” operation, The Associated Press reported.

Duprey’s mother told the AP the police narrative was “all lies.”

The police department early Friday did not confirm details of what preceded the deadly encounter to NBC News.

Duprey was a father of three, NBC New York reported. “This is abuse. Power abuse,” Duprey’s wife told the station at a memorial for him.

The NYPD said its Force Investigation Division will assist the probe by the state Attorney General’s Office, and the state agency is leading the investigation.

“The NYPD is committed to ensuring that there will be a full, thorough, and transparent investigation of this incident,” the police department said in a statement.

The Sergeants Benevolent Association police union did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Friday.

The state Office of Special Investigation is required by state law to investigate all instances in which police action or inaction causes someone’s death.

If it determines an officer caused someone’s death, it conducts a full investigation into the incident, the attorney general’s office said.