{"id":556089,"date":"2026-04-19T15:21:46","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T15:21:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/556089\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T15:21:46","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T15:21:46","slug":"islanders-slammed-for-promoting-convicted-cops-fundraiser","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/556089\/","title":{"rendered":"Islanders Slammed for Promoting Convicted Cop\u2019s Fundraiser"},"content":{"rendered":"

The New York Islanders are facing criticism after soliciting donations during a home game for the defense fund of a police officer convicted of second-degree manslaughter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The team shared a QR code on the UBS Arena jumbotron during their Tuesday, April 14, loss to the Carolina Hurricanes for fans to donate directly to NYPD<\/a> Sgt. Erick Duran\u2019s legal fund. He was sentenced on April 9 to three to nine years in prison for his involvement in the death of Eric Duprey.<\/p>\n

Duprey, 30, was fleeing a drug bust on his moped when Duran, 38, threw a full Igloo cooler at him, causing him to crash into a tree. A judge found that Duran\u2019s use of lethal force was not justifiable.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is all about Erik\u2019s family,\u201d NYPD Sergeants Benevolent Association head Vincent Vallelong told the New York Post <\/a>in a story published Tuesday. \u201cWhatever it takes to get him out, is exactly what it is everyone on this board believes and everybody in law enforcement is going to do at this point. The message is that basically, this is going to affect law enforcement across the nation. They all feel that this can happen in their cities.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t
\n Related: Dallas Stars\u2019 Jason Robertson Draws Criticism for Blue Lives Matter Jersey<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tDallas Stars forward Jason Robertson drew some strong reactions on social media after showing up to a game in a Blue Lives Matter-themed jersey. \u201cNo fit goes harder than Robo\u2019s Dallas Police jersey \ud83d\ude2e\u200d\ud83d\udca8\ud83d\udd25,\u201d the Stars posted via X on Tuesday, April 7, showing Robertson, 26, wearing the custom uniform as he walked into Dallas\u2019 [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n

In addition to the QR code, fans also had the option of participating in the arena\u2019s 50\/50 raffle, with a portion of the proceeds going to the fund. The Post reports that as of Tuesday morning, before the Islanders game, Duran\u2019s defense had raised $40,000.<\/p>\n

The incident was captured on security footage and made publicly available by the New York State attorney general\u2019s office. It shows a man, presumably Duprey, fleeing the bust on his moped when another unidentifiable man, presumably Duran, throws the cooler at his head from a short distance while Duprey drives by.<\/p>\n

Duran argued in court that he threw the cooler to prevent Duprey from harming other officers, while prosecutors alleged that his intention was to keep Duprey from fleeing.<\/p>\n

Islanders fans have since begun weighing in on social media, with opinions both for and against the fundraiser.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood to know the Islanders are pro-manslaughter,\u201d wrote one person.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Islanders should remain neutral on matters like this,\u201d another added.<\/p>\n

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One account in favor of the fundraiser noted, \u201cGood job Islanders for standing up for what\u2019s right and help a cop who was put in jail for arresting drug dealers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Duran is currently being held in protective custody at Rikers Island. He is expected to be transferred to a state facility.<\/p>\n

The Islanders have said they will not comment on the fundraiser, according to Hudson Valley News 12<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The New York Islanders are facing criticism after soliciting donations during a home game for the defense fund…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":556090,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5110],"tags":[62800,5,122,3328,159,5190,5189,4,43],"class_list":{"0":"post-556089","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-islanders","8":"tag-celebrity-arrests","9":"tag-hockey","10":"tag-islanders","11":"tag-new-york","12":"tag-new-york-islanders","13":"tag-newyork","14":"tag-newyorkislanders","15":"tag-nhl","16":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116432058004139025","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556089","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=556089"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556089\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/556090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=556089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=556089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=556089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}