Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman blasted a recent conviction and vowed to pardon the recently sentenced “cooler cop” on day one of his potential administration.
Blakeman, the current Nassau County executive, was joined by local GOP politicians including former Congressman Peter King over the recent three-year sentencing for ex-Sgt. Erik Duran, who killed a drug suspect in 2023 by chucking a cooler.
“I will pardon Sergeant Duran so that he does not have to spend one more day in prison, so that he does not have this terrible conviction against him that not only as a father of three, as a distinguished and honorable police officer for 13 years, have this on his record,” Blakeman said on the steps of City Hall Monday.
NYPD Sgt. Erik Duran was sentenced to prison for throwing a cooler at Eric Duprey to stop him from fleeing police in 2023. Matthew McDermott for NY Post
Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman was joined by former Rep. Peter King and other New York GOP politicians outside of City Hall to speak out against Erik Duran’s prison sentence on April 13, 2026. James Keivom for NY PostGov. Kathy Hochul has yet to address the controversial decision and did not comment on a potential pardon when asked about Blakeman’s campaign pledge.
“Bruce Blakeman put New Yorkers’ safety at risk when he partnered with Trump’s rogue ICE agents, created an armed, untrained MAGA militia that answers only to him, and refused to lift a finger when Trump cut nearly $200M in funding for the NYPD,” New York State Democratic Party Spokesperson Addison Dick said in a statement in response to an inquiry to Hochul from The Post.
A 2024 Nassau County initiative hired a 75-member team of “special deputies” in 2024 to aid police in emergencies, which Democratic legislators have filed legal objections over.
The scene when Eric Duprey falls down after an ice cooler is thrown at him. Tomas E. Gaston .. for NY PostBlakeman was also joined by Queens GOP Councilwomen Joann Ariola and Vickie Paladino as well as Republican Attorney General candidate Saritha Komatireddy — who he said would help roll back anti-police policies across New York state.
“In today’s New York, a Hispanic man who is a violent criminal and here illegally will be treated with a lighter hand than a Hispanic man like Eric Duran — the son of two Ecuadorian immigrants who grew up in the Bronx and tried to do the right thing and help his community by becoming a cop,” Komatireddy said.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman is running to be the next governor of New York. James Keivom for NY PostAriola said that change in the governor’s mansion was the only chance to help tame quality-of-life issues caused by crime across the Big Apple.
“We will not have any change until we change the executive office in Albany that will bring the change we need for bail reform. That will bring the change we need for raising for the raising age debacle that we have now,” Ariola said, referring to controversial criminal justice laws.
King, whose father was an NYPD cop for over three decades, said the sentencing was due to liberal leadership across New York.
“This is part of the atmosphere created by Kathy Hochul, by Letitia James, by Mayor [Zohran] Mamdani — the whole liberal, woke force that’s too active in the city and state,” King said.
