(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) An influential police union has criticized New York Attorney General Letitia James, a radical Democrat, for her controversial decision to prosecute an NYPD sergeant in the death of a suspected drug dealer.
According to the New York Post, the Sergeants’ Benevolent Association on Friday called out James for leading a criminal indictment against NYPD Sgt. Erik Duran after the sergeant, then undercover, threw an ice cooler at Eric Duprey as the latter rode a scooter.
Duprey died as a result of “blunt force injuries of the head” following the accident. At the time, he was allegedly fleeing a drug bust in the Bronx, New York, before the sergeant threw the cooler, causing Duprey to crash into a vehicle. He was initially identified as a crack-cocaine dealer, according to the NYPD.
SBA President Vincent Vallelong rebuked the indictment of Duran, who he said was doing his job at the time of the accident.
“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,” Vallelong declared in a statement, as reported by the NY Post.
“Sgt. Duran made a split-second decision that was predicated solely on his concern for the safety of others. Now he has become the latest victim of a legal system that treats honest hard-working cops as criminals and criminals as victims,” Vallelong continued.
Following the accident, Duran was suspended. The suspected drug dealer had a felony assault charge pending before he died.
He was allegedly riding the scooter at 40 miles per hour before being intercepted by the sergeant who threw the cooler. The SBA said that if the officer had not thrown the cooler, the suspected drug dealer would have caused the death of nearby bystanders.
As reported by the NY Post, the alleged drug dealer’s family “put a hit” on the sergeant’s head as a result of the man’s death. The SBA stated that if James had properly probed the death, state prosecutors would have found that the sergeant’s actions were “justified, warranted, and lawful.”
Vallelong added, “Instead, the Attorney General has once again displayed her fecklessness at the expense of a well-respected NYPD Sergeant who did the right thing.”
The sergeant is expected to turn himself in on Tuesday to be processed for the state charges.
