*Amy Cooper, the NYC woman who made headlines for calling the police to falsely claim she was being threatened by “an African-American man,” who asked for her dog to be leashed in Central Park, will be prosecuted over the encounter.
“Today our office initiated a prosecution of Amy Cooper for Falsely Reporting an Incident in the Third Degree,” a press release said Monday, per CBS News. “Our office will provide the public with additional information as the case proceeds. At this time I would like to encourage anyone who has been the target of false reporting to contact our office. We are strongly committed to holding perpetrators of this conduct accountable.”
The charge is a class A misdemeanor, which can carry up to a year in prison, USA Today reports.
Cooper, who the Internet dubbed “Central Park Karen” after the incident, is seen in the viral video calling police on Christian Cooper (no relation), who asked her to leash her dog in the Ramble section of Central Park.
In her 911 call, she repeatedly identified the man by his race and demanded they “send the cops immediately” while falsely accusing Cooper of threatening her life.
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Oh, when Karens take a walk with their dogs off leash in the famous Bramble in NY’s Central Park, where it is clearly posted on signs that dogs MUST be leashed at all times, and someone like my brother (an avid birder) politely asks her to put her dog on the leash. pic.twitter.com/3YnzuATsDm
— Melody Cooper (@melodyMcooper) May 25, 2020
After the clip went viral, Amy was reportedly fired from her job at investment management company Franklin Templeton. She was also temporarily forced to surrender her Cocker Spaniel dog to the rescue group where Amy adopted him.
Days after making headlines for weaponizing her whiteness, Amy apologized and admitted she overreacted because she felt threatened. She also rejected accusations that she’s a racist.
“I sincerely and humbly apologize to everyone, especially to that man, his family,” she told NBC New York. “It was unacceptable and I humbly and fully apologize to everyone who’s seen that video, everyone that’s been offended … everyone who thinks of me in a lower light and I understand why they do.”
Christian, who says he was bird-watching before the incident with Amy, wrote on Facebook, “Once she put the dog on the leash, I birded my way out of the park as normal (I was done for the day and on my way out when I encountered Karen).” He added, “I’m fine… At this point, I’m getting used to this. Though the full-on racist slant was new.”
Activist Jay Dav-O summed up the entire incident best with: “Amy Cooper mortgaged her entire future to try to harm a black man for telling her to follow rules. Racism is POWER. Not just n-words/slurs. She was saying “Your position in society does not allow YOU to talk to ME like that. And now you’ll be punished for not knowing your place.”
An arraignment is scheduled for on October 14 and charging documents will be available once filed, the report states.
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