https://iclfi.org/pubs/slus/2026-pdc-duprey
It is satisfying that the family of Eric Duprey gets some justice with the conviction of Sgt. Erik Duran for manslaughter. On August 23, 2023, Duran killed Duprey in the Bronx by throwing a 40-pound ice chest at Duprey’s head. On Friday, February 6, after a three-week trial, the verdict came down: GUILTY!
This victory is not the end of the fight. Duran is to be sentenced on March 19, and he needs to rot in jail. This case would never have been prosecuted if it were not for protests after the killing, and would have been thrown out if it were not for united-front protests at each court date initiated by Black Lives Matter Greater NY and the Open Police Archives NYC Committee. All out March 19! Jail the “cooler killer” cop!
We cannot rely on the goodwill of the “justice” system. This is the first time an NYPD killer cop has gone to trial in nearly a decade, and none have been sent to prison for decades. The last cop convicted in NYC, for killing Akai Gurley in Brooklyn in 2014, got probation! We need to rebuild the movement to fight racist cop terror against black people and Latinos. Remember Eric Garner, Delrawn Small, Allan Feliz, Kawaski Trawick, Eudes Pierre, Saniyah Cheatham!
Just last week, Mamdani’s NYPD shot up Jabez Chakraborty after his family called for medical assistance while he was in emotional distress. The cops harassed the family like ICE agents, demanding their cell phones and curtailing access to the hospital, where Jabez was handcuffed to a bed. Mamdani’s first response was to praise his NYPD because they “keep our communities safe.”
The Duprey case shows we need to keep fighting to open the police archives. The narcotics squad covered up the killing from the get-go, claiming it was just a “scooter accident.” When surveillance video was discovered, the cops seized the video equipment to prevent the footage from getting leaked to the public. How many more cases are there where the videotapes and other damning evidence against the cops are buried in police files? It is an elementary act of self-defense for the ghettos and barrios to demand: Open the police archives!
Shout out to all those who helped make this possible by mobilizing—including Unified Black Caucus, Parents Supporting Parents, Transit Workers for a Fighting Union, Freedom Socialist Party, Hospital Workers Building Union Power, Spartacist League/U.S., We the People, InPDUM/Black is Back Coalition, JUPI BX and New York Young Communist League.
Let’s all turn out March 19. Jail killer cop Duran!
—7 February 2026
