A man who was fleeing a drug bust on a scooter in the Bronx, New York City, has died after an undercover police officer threw a cooler at him.

Eric Duprey was attempting to get away when he crashed to the ground just after 5.20pm on Wednesday - and now NYPD Sergeant Erik Duran has been suspended while cops investigate his involvement in the fatal incident.

Sergeant Duran was working undercover on the Bronx Narcotics Division at the time, conducting a buy-and-bust operation on Aqueduct Avenue. According to police, Duprey sold drugs to the plain-clothed cop, who then tried to arrest him.

Duprey, 30, quickly fled the situation, at which point the cop threw a cooler at him - which he had snatched from a bystander who was on the street with his family.

The fatal impact from the cooler - that was filled with soda cans - caused the suspect to lose control of his scooter and strike a parked Jeep.

Father-of-three Duprey fell to the ground, and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Sergeant Duran was suspended early on Thursday morning.

CCTV footage shows the moment that the cooler hit the man on the Bronx street.

An image obtained by DailyMail.com showed the red cooler with a white handle that was lobbed at Duprey during the drug bust.

The NYPD said in a statement: 'Early today, New York City Police Department Sergeant Erik Duran was suspended from duty without pay following a fatal incident in the Bronx on Wednesday afternoon involving a man attempting to flee from the police on a motorcycle.

'The city’s medical examiner will determine the cause of death.

San Diego County Sheriff’s Department officials report that on August 15, 2023, at about 6:45 p.m., San Diego Police Department detectives were serving a search warrant san diego county sheriff department logofor an apartment in the 6100 block of El Cajon Blvd in San Diego. The subject of the search warrant was identified by their detectives as the outstanding suspect in a shooting that occurred on August 2, 2023. That shooting was the catalyst for the radio call that SDPD responded to, and eventually ended in an OIS at Mesa College.

SDPD detectives set up a perimeter on the apartment building and conducted a contain and call-out procedure. They made phone calls into the apartment, did call-outs directly outside of the apartment and gave verbal commands and warnings. The suspect eventually exited the apartment with a loaded handgun in his hand. Officers gave the suspect commands to drop the gun, which he eventually did. Officers gave the suspect commands to move away from the handgun which was on the ground near his feet. The suspect refused and kept looking at the gun. Despite multiple warnings and commands from the officers, the suspect quickly lunged to grab the gun. This prompted one of the officers to discharge his firearm multiple times. The suspect was struck multiple times and went to the ground. Officers provided medical aid, but the suspect succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased by paramedics around 7:00 p.m.

The Medical Examiner's office conducted an autopsy. The preliminary results for the cause of death are gunshot wounds; the manner is homicide. The suspect has been identified as 31-year-old Xavier Benjamine Lacosta. His last known address was in the city of San Diego.

Lacosta was previously arrested and convicted of 23152(B) VC – Driving under the influence and 11377(A) HS – Possession of methamphetamine.

No officers or civilians were injured. The officer involved in the shooting has been identified as Gregory Simon. He has been employed by the San Diego Police Department since September of 2016. He is currently assigned to the Special Operations Unit.

To view the previous press release dated August 16, 2023, click links below.

Per the Countywide Memorandum of Understanding, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department Homicide Unit was called to the scene to conduct the officer-involved-shooting investigation. At this stage of the investigation, the circumstances of the shooting are still under investigation. Detectives are currently gathering evidence, interviewing witnesses, and examining the circumstances surrounding the shooting.

The investigation and review process for officer-involved shootings are extremely thorough. When the Homicide Unit completes its investigation, it will be reviewed by the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office to determine if the officers bear any state criminal liability for their actions. The San Diego Police Department will conduct an administrative investigation into the officer’s discharge of his firearm. The Commission on Police Practices (CPP) will conduct a review of the incident and provide any appropriate recommendations. The Department of Justice was notified of the above incident.