A former NYPD sergeant was slapped with at least three years behind bars Thursday for killing a fleeing drug suspect by chucking a cooler at him — as police advocates ripped the Bronx judge’s sentencing decision as “one of the darkest days in the history of our profession.”

Ex-Sgt. Erik Duran — the first NYPD officer convicted of killing someone while on duty in a decade — begged Judge Guy Mitchell to give him “a chance” as he apologized to the family of 30-year-old Eric Duprey, a delivery driver with a criminal record who crashed as he fled arrest during a 2023 sting operation.  

“Your honor, I am asking for a chance to be there with my kids. I am asking for a chance, just one,” pleaded Duran, a 38-year-old married dad of three who served on the police force for 13 years. 

But while the judge conceded that he did find Duran to be “remorseful,” he argued the sentence of 3-to-9 years in state prison would serve as a “general deterrent” to other police officers.

“The distinction is that the deceased will no longer be seen again by his family,” he said from the bench, before handing down the punishment, prompting Duran to be hauled away to lockup.

“Today will be forever remembered as one of the darkest days in the history of our profession,” Sergeants Benevolent Association President Vincent Vallelong said in a statement following the sentencing.

“It wasn’t only Sgt. Duran, a great cop, who was on trial. Every law enforcement officer who makes a split second decision in the performance of their duties to protect the public, was also on trial,” he said, adding that the sentencing “has now sent a very chilling message to every cop in the nation.”

Duran was the first NYPD officer since 2016 to be convicted of killing someone while on duty when Mitchell found him guilty of second-degree manslaughter in February following a 3-week, non-jury trial.

He took the stand in Bronx Supreme Court at trial, testifying that he tossed the cooler to protect his fellow officers, who were in Duprey’s path, during the Aug. 23, 2023 undercover operation in Kingsbridge Heights.

But prosecutors with state Attorney General Leticia James’ office, which under law is responsible for probing such cases, argued his decision was made to stop Duprey from fleeing.

Surveillance footage played during the trial showed Duran picking up the full, red Igloo cooler and throwing it at Duprey, who was riding on his motorbike on a sidewalk after selling $20 worth of cocaine to an undercover officer.

After the cooler hit his arm, Duprey, a dad of two, crashed into a tree and was flung from the bike, cracking his head on the pavement. He died almost immediately on impact.

The judge eventually ruled when convicting him Feb. 6 that that Duran’s use of “deadly force” was not justified, and added Thursday that the video was not conclusive.

“I took my time looking at that video. I did not see any justification,” Mitchell said, adding that cops had footage of Duprey’s face and therefore “enough to investigate and catch him on a different day.”

He had a wide range of sentencing options, from sending the former cop prison for up to 15 years to granting him probation with no jail time — a decision thousands of police officers from around the country had urged.

Hawk Newsome, of the New York chapter of Black Lives Matter, and other advocates with the group had pushed for the harshest punishment for Duran. Newsome and other BLM activists were at Thursday’s emotional sentencing hearing to support Duprey’s family, including his mother, Gretchen Soto, and Pearl Velez, the mother of his two kids. 

“It is an unjust incident,” Soto told the court during a short speech delivered in Spanish, with an English interpreter. “As a mother, I have to miss him now every day, and the justice I am asking for is just the normal justice, as any mother would, who was with her child everyday.”

AG’s office prosecutor Joseph Bianco pushed for the 3-to-9 year sentence, arguing to the judge that “The gravity of this case is very simple. 

“Sergeant Duran recklessly caused the death of another human. There is no more serious offense than taking the life of another person.”

During his heartwrenching plea for mercy, Duran — who was supported at sentencing by his parents, aunts and uncles, along with scores of police officers — turned to Soto and apologized in Spanish, insisting he “never wanted this to happen.”

“I pray for you and your family,” he said. 

Upon hearing his apology, Soto burst into tears and held her head in her hands.

“I took this job to save lives,” Duran told the court. “I felt terrible once I saw Eric Duprey crash. I regret this day ever happened.”

Duran teared up earlier in the hearing as his lawyer, Andrew Quinn, argued his client should not face time behind bars for a “reckless decision” that was made in “2.5 seconds.”

“No man should be judged entirely for a decision he made in the blink of an eye,” he said.

The attorney also said Duran had lived a “model, exemplary life,” adding he’d been punished enough after losing his job and pension.

Duran, who was fired by the NYPD after his conviction and who had been out on $500,000 bail pending sentencing, did not have a noticeable reaction when he learned his fate.

After being told that he’d be taken to Rikers Island immediately, he put his hands behind his back as if he would be handcuffed, though court officers did not slap on cuffs before leading him out of the room through a side door.

As they left the courtroom, one of the activists who had attended the hearing in support of Duprey shouted, “No one is above the law!”

They also yelled “Justice for! Eric Duprey!”

Another of Duran’s lawyers, Arthur Aidala, told the judge he’d file an emergency plea to seek his client’s release while he appeals the verdict.

Outside the courthouse, Soto and Velez were asked if they accepted Duran’s apology and said they did not, telling reporters it came too little too late. 

“How they gonna say sorry now?” Velez said.