The Issue: NYPD Sgt. Erik Duran’s 3- to 9-year prison sentence for actions that killed a fleeing drug suspect.
As a retired NYPD sergeant, I’ve experienced many split-second decisions throughout my career (“Defense misjudged,” April 11).
Sgt. Erik Duran didn’t wake up looking to break the law that day. He was working to support his family and made a decision in the middle of a chaotic chase with a fleeing suspect. These types of situations do not have a script, just instinct and experience.
On the street, hesitation gets you, your partner or others hurt. But now the message is clear: Act instinctively and you might lose your freedom.
Anthony Luongo, Sr.
Oceanport, NJ
I hope karma visits lefty loser Judge Guy Mitchell. Decisions, beliefs and policy such as his are the reason crime is unrelenting and disrespect for law enforcement is the new norm.
Duran is a true hero living through a nightmarish experience in a city controlled by garbage politicians and judges with crazy, twisted beliefs.
Steven Cassidy
Franklin Square
The outrageous sentence given to Duran should surprise no one. Mayor Mamdani’s outrageous policies, including shrinking the police force and showing compassion for criminals, represent his anti-law-enforcement policy.
Add to that a criminal-loving district attorney, radical left-wing judges and an out-of-touch City Council, and the results are a hero cop sentenced to prison.
Irene Hesse
Mineola
The job of law enforcement is to protect the public by apprehending suspects, not letting them get away. A person fleeing law enforcement should bear the responsibility for any untoward event that may befall them, not the pursuing officer.
Let’s hope Judge Guy Mitchell never has to call 911 to come rescue his family — because, why would they?
Miles Kuttler
Aventura, Fla.
Duran testified that he tossed the cooler at Eric Duprey because he feared his fellow officers were in danger of imminent physical injury.
In rendering his verdict, Mitchell cited he was sending a “general deterrent” to other cops. You can be assured the “general deterrent” heard by cops will make them reluctant to execute their thankless job.
Denis David
East Rockaway
First, let me say I personally know Andrew Quinn as an outstanding defense attorney. Unfortunately, when trying a case involving a police officer in The Bronx, you are stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Secondly, the judge’s suggestion that the police knew the suspect and could’ve arrested him the next day is ludicrous. As a sergeant and lieutenant in narcotics for seven years, I personally supervised over 150 buy-and-bust operations. You typically go to a narcotics-prone location with no specific individual in mind. The only way they would know his identity was if they took him to the station for processing.
James Crean
Congers
As a dedicated reader of The Post, I’ve been following the case of Sgt. Duran and can’t believe the sentence he was given.
I have a suggestion for the NYPD that a severe case of blue flu could be warranted to protest this miscarriage of justice. Perhaps this would get the attention of the liberal judiciary. Nothing else seems to work.
Richard Dee
East Wareham, Mass.
As Isaiah 5:20 says, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil.”
Mitchell sentenced Duran to jail for the “crime” of trying to arrest a drug dealer who died while trying to escape justice. By what moral system do so-called progressives live?
Judith Weizner
Bronxville
It used to be that a police officer trying to do the right thing would suffice in the world of public opinion. Now Judge Mitchell is turning that precedent on his head.
In hindsight, of course Duran would’ve responded differently, but officers are reacting on the fly. If this sentence stands, the safety of New Yorkers will hang in the balance.
Peter Cooper
Bronxville
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