Suspect Eric Duprey dies after NYPD sergeant knocks him off motorcycle; Sgt. Erik Duran suspended, police say
NEW YORK -- NYPD Sgt. Erik Duran has been suspended without pay after police said he threw an object at a suspect fleeing from police on a motorcycle.
Police said that Eric Duprey died from his injuries Wednesday night in the Bronx.
A vigil kept growing at 190th Street and Aqueduct Avenue, where people were coming to pay tribute to Duprey.
Surveillance video captured the moment Duprey fled down Aqueduct Avenue on the sidewalk on a motorbike when the force of the object thrown at him caused him to lose control. Police said the man that launched the object at Duprey was Duran, who was part of a plainclothes buy-and-bust operation that was working to apprehend 30-year-old Duprey for selling narcotics.
"He was a nice person. He was the best father in the world. We were going to take my kids to school next week and this is not right," said Orlyanis Velez, the mother of Duprey's two children.
"Despite what police might say, what the rap sheet might say -- listen, I know a good person when I see one, and he was a humble dude," added neighbor Erik DeJesus.
CBS New York obtained a photo of the red cooler that was allegedly hurled at Duprey, who soon after lost control of his motorbike, crashing into a vehicle and hitting his head.
"I've got to be honest, it was wrong. I feel like what the officer did, it was ... I don't think it's protocol. I honestly think that if this individual wasn't stopping or cooperating, I feel like they should let him go, at the end of the day," DeJesus said.
The community is having a difficult time coming to grips with the way Duprey died. They're honoring his life in the exact spot where he fell off his bike. It has become a place filled with candles, photos, and emotions.
"He always looked out for the neighborhood," DeJesus said.
DeJesus said residents are in shock over the incident, as some witnessed it while picnicking with family.
"One of the ladies that witnessed don't even want to come out. She hasn't come out all day," DeJesus said. "I couldn't think last night just to know, I spoke to him a couple hours ago, and to know now he's gone, it's a little impactful, a little traumatic."
Velez called the incident an abuse of power.
"There was no reason to kill him. He got no gun. He got nothing on him. Why you gotta kill him?"
Velez also responded to the NYPD sergeant's suspension.
"He's suspended, but he's still home. He still see his family. He still see his kids. My kids don't see his father. I don't want him outside. I want him in jail," Velez said.
State Attorney General Letitia James' office is investigating the incident.