Victim's family angered by Islanders' fundraiser for convicted cop - ESPN

NEW YORK — The Islanders are facing questions about a jumbotron promotion urging hockey fans to donate to a former New York City police sergeant who was recently convicted of manslaughter for hurling a cooler of ice at a man fleeing arrest.

The fundraiser — shown on the scoreboard during Tuesday's home game against the Carolina Hurricanes — featured a photo of Erik Duran, who was sentenced last week to three to nine years in prison for causing the death of 30-year-old Eric Duprey.

It included a QR code for direct donations to Duran's legal defense, along with a message from his union, the Sergeants Benevolent Association, requesting fans to join «the fight for justice.» The team also said it would direct a quarter of proceeds from a 50/50 raffle toward the cause, the union said.

The union's president, Vincent Vallelong, said the fundraiser came together after someone at The New York Post informed him that the Islanders «wanted to do something» for Duran.

A spokesperson for the Islanders declined to comment. An emailed inquiry to The Post was not returned.

An attorney for Duprey's family, Jon Roberts, said they were «deeply troubled by the decision of the New York Islanders to align themselves, even symbolically, with efforts that appear to support Sgt. Duran's legal defense.»

«This was not a neutral act,» Roberts' statement continued. «It sends a message — intended or not — that risks undermining public confidence in a fair legal process and deepens the pain of a family still grieving.»

The NHL did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.

Duprey's death came as Duran and other narcotics officers were carrying out an undercover drug bust in the Bronx in 2023.

Surveillance footage showed Duran lifting a