The Black birdwatcher who wrongly had 911 called on him by a white woman in New York’s Central Park refused to cooperate with an investigation into the false police report, The New York Times reports.
In May, a viral video showed Amy Cooper called 911 on Black birdwatcher Christian Cooper after he asked her to leash her dog in a part of the park where leashes are required.
Amy Cooper responded to the man’s request by calling 911 to claim an “African-American man” was threatening her and screamed as if she were under attack even though Christian Cooper was polite and cordial through the entire length of the video.
Amy Cooper was widely publicly shamed online and lost her job as a result of the video.
DA charged Cooper with false police report:
Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance charged Amy Cooper with filing a false report, a misdemeanor charge that carries up to a year in jail.
It is believed to be the first time a white person in the US has faced criminal charges for wrongly calling police on a Black person.
“We are strongly committed to holding perpetrators of this conduct accountable,” Vance said in a statement.
Cooper was issued a desk appearance ticket and is scheduled to be arraigned in October.
“She lost her job, her home, and her public life,” said her attorney, Robert Barnes. “Now some demand her freedom? How many lives are we going to destroy over misunderstood 60-second videos on social media?”
Christian Cooper refuses to cooperate:
“On the one hand, she’s already paid a steep price,” Christian Cooper said in a statement on Tuesday. “That’s not enough of a deterrent to others? Bringing her more misery just seems like piling on.”
“If the DA feels the need to pursue charges, he should pursue charges. But he can do that without me,” he added.
