Around thirty demonstrators took to the streets in Fordham Manor on Friday, Sept. 1, to protest the death of Eric Duprey, 30. According to updates from both the Office of the New York Attorney General (AG) investigations team who, as reported, have opened an investigation into the incident, and the NYPD, Duprey died following an NYPD operation in Fordham Manor on Aug. 23.

 

Officials from the AG’s office said he was struck in the head with a picnic cooler thrown by NYPD Sgt. Erik Duran, who is with the Bronx Narcotics unit, at 2505 Aqueduct Avenue as Duprey was trying to flee from police on a motorcycle. Officials from the AG’s office said Duprey was pronounced dead at the scene and later released video footage of the incident. The video has also since been shared online by various news outlets.

 

In a statement following Duprey’s death, the NYPD said, in part, “The NYPD is committed to ensuring there will be a full, thorough, and transparent investigation of this incident to determine the facts and to take the appropriate steps forward.”

The crowd started the rally at the site of the fatal incident in Fordham Manor before later marching to the 52^nd Precinct stationhouse located at 3016 Webster Avenue in Norwood. The precinct covers parts of Fordham. There were no reported injuries, but police made one arrest.

 

Prior to the protesters’ arrival, cops had moved vehicles usually parked outside the station house and had placed wooden and metal barricades outside the precinct entrance. The protesters later stood outside the barricades, taunting the dozen or so officers with chants of “F*ck the Police!” and recording them on cell phones, as they stood, for the most part, in silence between the barricades and the steps of the station house.

 

Some protestors held signs, some of which read, “Justice for Eric Duprey,” “Community Power,” and longer references to “Police Oversight,” while one protester hoisted a picnic cooler above his head before placing it inside the barricade at the entrance to the precinct. Using accelerants, some demonstrators burned NYPD and American flags. An officer holding a fire extinguisher walked over to the barricade to extinguish the flames on a few occasions, leaving a cloud of smoke in his wake.

He alerted protesters to two nearby gas pumps located on the precinct grounds. At one stage, one demonstrator hunched over the barricade was seen holding a small burning American flag made of plastic. A piece of the flag later fell to the ground inside the barricade several feet from the two gas pumps.

 

As the flag burned, the 52^nd Precinct’s commanding officer, Deputy Inspector Jeremy Scheublin, was observed on his cell phone. Minutes later, about 30 members of the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group (SRG) gathered around the crowd and several protesters retreated along Webster Avenue.

 

Members of the SRG then surrounded the protester who had set the plastic flag alight and which had fallen close to the gas pumps and he was quickly arrested and placed in a police van. Members of the SRG unit then surrounded the police van.

The protester later said he was taken to the 50^th Precinct for processing and was later photographed leaving the station house. The SRG members then walked north along Webster Avenue as around half of the remaining [roughly 15] protesters followed them with camera phones, again taunting them with chants during their exit from the area.

 

Protester and Bronxite Desmond Morrero told Norwood News on the day of the rally, “We demand justice for Eric Duprey. That cop should be arrested, not just fired, because any civilian would have already been arrested.”

 

As previously reported, Duran is currently on unpaid leave, pending the investigation into the incident by the Office of the AG. The Office had reported that during the Aug. 23 incident, the picnic cooler hit Duprey, causing him to fall to the ground.

The City’s medical examiner later told Norwood News his death has been ruled a homicide and the cause was “blunt force injuries of head.” Norwood News has asked both the Bronx District Attorney’s Office and the NYPD if Duprey had any prior arrests. [Officials at the AG’s office said the focus of their investigation is Duran’s actions.] We did not receive an immediate response.

 

On Thursday, Sept. 7, Scheublin said the death of Duprey took place within the jurisdiction of the 52^nd Precinct command but told Norwood News, “It’s important for me to mention that he’s [Duran] not from the 52.”

 

Asked about the reason for the arrest of the protester, Scheublin replied, “The issue was that it was in close proximity to gas pumps… We had to have the guy apprehended. It’s like, dude, the gas pumps are right there, and if there’s a little gas on the ground… you know what I mean? This could be an issue.”

As reported, a fire previously broke out at the 52^nd Precinct station house in January 2022. Asked about his view on his officers’ response to the rally, Scheublin said, “They were respectful to protesters and I’m proud of how professional they were.”

 

On Sept. 8, an NYPD spokesperson identified the arrested protester as Joshua Lopez, 44, and said he was charged with reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct. The spokesperson said Lopez, “was arrested for lighting flags on fire in front of officers and a gas pump, causing a substantial risk of physical injury to individuals present.”

As the NYPD announced the suspension of Duran, a Norwood resident who declined to be identified and who said he has been “harassed” by the NYPD sergeant, told Norwood News, “He used to pick on everybody around this neighborhood.”

 

The resident added that when he complained about Duran to the NYPD, he was informed that the Bronx Narcotics unit was based in Mount Vernon [and not locally in Norwood]. Norwood News asked the NYPD if this was the case. We did not receive an immediate response.

The same Norwood resident said of Duran, “I’ll be honest with you. I’m surprised he didn’t kill somebody from [East] 204 Street because back in the day, when the drugs were heavy over there, he was there every day in a different car and you wouldn’t know they were cops until it was too late.” He added that since the death of Duprey, he’s seeing what he believes are undercover vehicles in Norwood once again.

 

On Saturday morning, Sept. 9, as reported, two Black vehicles appeared to have been involved in a collision at 55 West Mosholu Parkway North in Norwood. When contacted for more information on the incident, EMS officials said response units were assigned to the location for reports of a trauma. They added, “The incident was deemed a PD [Police Department] matter only.”

When contacted for details of the incident, the NYPD press office said they hadn’t received any information from the NYPD Collision Investigation Squad and suggested to check with them later, which we did. We did not receive a response.

 

According to online NYPD disciplinary records for Duran, there is one allegation recorded dated July 21. No further details were available in relation to the incident. According to the same online police file, he has been recognized for “excellent police duty” at various stages of his career. Norwood News also contacted the Civilian Complaints Review Board for more details on Duran’s disciplinary history. We did not receive an immediate response.

 

Meanwhile, Jonathan Roberts of the law firm Talkin, Muccigrosso & Roberts, which is representing the Duprey family, said the deceased man was the father of three children all under the age of nine and that he believed Duprey to be a lifelong Bronxite. Roberts said of Duprey’s death, “Another young man gone too soon at the hands of a reckless police officer.”

As reported, on Sept. 5, Mayor Eric Adams joined other City officials to announce that the NYPD has implemented new practices to respect every person’s first amendment rights to free speech while keeping New Yorkers safe, and to better address what were described as the unique challenges they say arise during spontaneous protests. It coincided with the settlement of various lawsuits filed against the City by Black Lives Matter protesters in 2020. Norwood News readers have since weighed in with their thoughts on the new tiered approach.

 

“The right to peaceful protest is a fundamental part of American freedom, and the right to public safety is essential for our city to function; balancing these two important rights is one of this administration’s core missions,” said Adams. “I spent my career fighting for police reform and accountability, and now as mayor, our administration is committed to improving our policies to keep New Yorkers safe and protect their civil liberties.”

Black Lives Matter of Greater NY has, in the interim, called on the AG to bring murder charges against Duran, who is Hispanic, as is Duprey. The group has been organizing to call attention to the matter. As reported, on Friday, Sept. 8, Hawk Newsome, founder of the group, was arrested on 42nd Street by Lexington Avenue in Manhattan, during a rally [for Duprey] that started inside Grand Central Station and continued down 42nd Street, amid moving traffic.

 

Separately, as reported, a man armed with a kitchen knife, described by the NYPD as being in his thirties and Black, died after he was shot by police officers during a stand-off with police inside a 7-Eleven convenience store in the Throggs Neck section of The Bronx on Saturday, Sept. 9.

Meanwhile, Roberts described Duprey as “a loving partner,” adding that he was a “father and son who provided financial and emotional support to the family.” Roberts concluded, “Nothing can mitigate this family’s pain, but the individual who committed this heinous act must be held accountable.”

 

*Síle Moloney contributed to this story.