A Bronx judge convicted an NYPD sergeant of second-degree manslaughter for killing a man by throwing a cooler at his head during an attempted drug bust.

The New York attorney general’s office accused Erik Duran of using excessive force in an attempt to salvage a botched arrest when he threw a cooler at Eric Duprey in August 2023. Duran’s defense attorney argued the sergeant made a split-second decision to protect himself and others.

Bronx Justice Guy Mitchell decided the verdict on Friday — not a jury.

Duran’s defense attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment. An NYPD spokesperson said Duran has been dismissed from the department, as is required under state law when a police officer is convicted of a felony.

Hawk and Chivona Newsome, the founders of Black Lives Matter Greater New York, said in a statement that the “verdict is a signal.”

“A guilty verdict does not bring Eric back. It does not erase what his children live with,” they said. “But it does something New York too often refuses to do when the harm comes from someone wearing a badge: It draws a line.”

Vincent Vallelong, president of the Sergeants Benevolent Association, called the verdict a “miscarriage of justice” in a statement on Friday.

“We vigorously maintain Sergeant Duran’s innocence, he said, adding: “Verdicts such as this send a terrible message to hardworking cops.”

He also said the union’s attorneys are reviewing all legal options and are confident the verdict will be overturned.

Duran is the first NYPD officer to stand trial for killing someone while on duty since at least 2021, when New York adopted a law that requires the attorney general’s office to investigate killings by law enforcement.

He had pleaded not guilty to charges of manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and assault. The judge dismissed the assault charge during the trial. Duran faces five to 15 years in prison, according to the attorney general’s office. Sentencing is scheduled for March 19.

Attorney General Letitia James offered her condolences to Duprey’s family in a statement.

“Though it cannot return Eric to his loved ones, today’s decision gives justice to his memory,” she said.

Duran and other Bronx narcotics officers were working undercover on Aug. 23, 2023 to arrest drug dealers at several locations around the borough, Attorney General’s Investigative Counsel Angel Chiohh said during opening statements. As officers tried to stop Duprey on Aqueduct Avenue, she said, he fled on a motorbike.

At that point, Chiohh said, Duran was “flustered” and eager to arrest Duprey. The sergeant picked up a cooler filled with drinks and hurled it at Duprey, knocking him off his scooter and onto the pavement, where he cracked open his head and died almost instantly, the prosecutor said.

“The defendant had no right to use deadly physical force to stop and arrest Mr. Duprey,” Chiohh said at trial. “He was not an imminent threat and should be alive today.”

Duran’s defense attorney Andrew Quinn argued at trial that the sergeant thought Duprey was going to drive his motorbike into officers or members of the public, “causing carnage.”

“We don’t teach officers to throw coolers, but when that is the only way to save a life, that is what they should do,” he said.