‘Overzealous’ Letitia James targeted by NYPD union for charging cop in suspected drug dealer’s death
The Sergeants’ Benevolent Association (SBA), a union that represents New York City Police Department (NYPD sergeants, has blasted New York Attorney General Letitia James for indicting Sgt. Erik Duran in the death of suspected drug dealer Eric Duprey.
Working undercover in August, Duran was attempting to bust Duprey, 30, for selling narcotics in The Bronx.
Duprey, who had previously sold crack to Duran, took off on a scooter, driving 40 mph down a sidewalk bustling with pedestrians and children. The sergeant allegedly threw a cooler at the fleeing dealer. Duprey lost control of his scooter and crashed into a tree. The suspect sustained “blunt force injuries of the head” according to authorities and later died of his injuries.
(Video: YouTube)
According to the SBA, Duprey had, who had felony charges pending against him at the time of the chase. Had Duran not stopped him, Duprey would have plowed into him and the other officers on the scene.
On Tuesday, Sgt. Duran is expected to surrender himself at the Bronx Hall of Justice.
“The demonization of Sgt. Duran and the criminalization of his actions once again proves the old adage that overzealous prosecutors with a political agenda can indict a ham sandwich if inclined to do so,” SBA President Vincent Vallelong said in a statement obtained by the New York Post.
“Sgt. Duran made a split-second decision that was predicated solely on his concern for the safety of others,” Vallelong continued. “Now he has become the latest victim of a legal system that treats honest hard-working cops as criminals and criminals as victims.”
Had Duran not acted, the SBA argued, the drug deal would have “caused serious injuries or death to numerous people.”
Police sources told The Post that, following the incident, members of Duprey’s family in Pennsylvania, seeking retaliation, “put a hit” out on Sgt. Duran’s head.
Had the Attorney General’s office “properly investigated” the incident, the SBA leader said, they would have found Duran’s actions to be “justified, warranted, and lawful.”
“Instead, the Attorney General has once again displayed her fecklessness at the expense of a well-respected NYPD Sergeant who did the right thing,” Vallelong stated.
Vallelong called on SBA members to “pack” the Bronx Hall of Justice on Tuesday in solidarity with Duran and warned NYPD officers to be careful because “any action you take can result in an Albany political ideologue destroying your career to advance their own.”
AG James has been taking fire a lot in recent months.
Her civil case against former President Donald Trump is “ridiculous” according to “Shark Tank” star, entrepreneur and investor Kevin O’Leary.
“If you’re going to sue this case and win, you’ve gotta sue every real estate developer everywhere. This is all they do. This is what they do all day long every day. So I don’t think this thing will ever survive appeal regardless of what the fine is. This doesn’t even make sense,” O’Leary told CNN earlier this month.
“Now look, I understand Trump has a lot of problems in other indictments and everything else,“ he said, “but if you’re a real estate developer, you’re watching this and saying, ‘What is this? This is ridiculous.’”
And on Thursday, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo filed suit against James seeking documents related to her investigation into his alleged sexual misconduct that forced him out of office in 2021.
Fmr NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo sues AG Letitia James over ‘sham report’ that resulted in his resignation https://t.co/Ua4uAyKCna via @BIZPACReview
— BPR based (@DumpstrFireNews) January 20, 2024
According to Cuomo, “every single piece of information that has come out over the last two years has done nothing but undermine Tish James’ sham report and – after publicly stating that ‘evidence will be made available to the public’, she’s done everything she can to hide these documents from taxpayers.”
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Melissa Fine is the former executive editor of Casino Player, Strictly Slots, and Poker
Digest magazines. She is a UCLA graduate, news junkie, and dedicated Stargate SG-
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