Former NYPD Sgt. Erik Duran will be released from prison as he fights his manslaughter conviction for fatally chucking a picnic cooler at a fleeing drug-suspect.
Duran, who has been behind bars since Bronx Judge Guy Mitchell sentenced him to at least three years in prison on April 9,was granted $300,000 bail by a state appeals court in a ruling on Friday.
“I am very pleased to announce that the SBA’s team of attorneys have secured bail for Erik Duran and he will be released from prison and will remain free throughout his appeal,” Sergeants Benevolent Association President Vincent Vallelong said in a statement.
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“This a major win for Erik and his family and for law enforcement officers around the country!”
Duran, 38, a married father of three, was found guilty of manslaughter by Mitchell following a non-jury trial in February. The judge then hit him with a prison term of 3-to-9 years, calling it a “general deterrent” to other police officers — and stoking a firestorm among law enforcement supporters.
The Bronx native, who was fired by the NYPD upon his conviction, threw a full Igloo cooler at 30-year-old Eric Duprey as he tried to flee arrest on a moped during an undercover drug sting in August 2023.
Duprey was killed after crashing the motorbike.