Amy Cooper, Woman Who Falsely Accused Black Birdwatcher In Central Park, To Face Criminal Charges

by Kate ReynoldsJuly 6, 2020, 4:45 pmDaily Digest, News, News Feed >

Amy Cooper, the white woman who had called police on black man Christian Cooper in late May, is now facing charges set against her for falsely notifying the authorities.

The two, who are unrelated, had a dispute in Central Park in New York when Christian had asked Amy to keep her dog on a leash, as park rules require. Christian captured the encounter on video and Amy is heard saying, “I’m taking a picture and calling the cops. I’m going to tell them there’s an African American man threatening my life.”

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Central Park this morning: This woman's dog is tearing through the plantings in the Ramble.ME: Ma'am, dogs in the Ramble have to be on the leash at all times. The sign is right there.HER: The dog runs are closed. He needs his exercise.ME: All you have to do is take him to the other side of the drive, outside the Ramble, and you can let him run off leash all you want.HER: It's too dangerous.ME: Look, if you're going to do what you want, I'm going to do what I want, but you're not going to like it.HER: What's that?ME (to the dog): Come here, puppy!HER: He won't come to you.ME: We'll see about that…I pull out the dog treats I carry for just for such intransigence. I didn't even get a chance to toss any treats to the pooch before Karen scrambled to grab the dog.HER: DON'T YOU TOUCH MY DOG!!!!!That's when I started video recording with my iPhone, and when her inner Karen fully emerged and took a dark turn…

Posted by Christian Cooper on Monday, May 25, 2020

Manhattan district attorney Cyrus R. Vance stated, “Today our office initiated a prosecution of Amy Cooper for falsely reporting an incident in the third degree. We are strongly committed to holding perpetrators of this conduct accountable.”

Amy will be arraigned on October 14 and was given a desk appearance ticket. If she is convicted, she could be issued a conditional discharge or will have to complete community service.

Christian’s video sparked a discussion of the history in the United States of white people falsely accusing black people of crimes. Earlier, Christian gave his reasoning for filming the encounter. He said, “I videotaped it because I thought it was important to document things. Unfortunately we live in an era with things like Ahmaud Arbery, where black men are seen as targets. This woman thought she could exploit that to her advantage, and I wasn’t having it.”

Amy had been fired from her job as a result of the backlash she was receiving. She told CNN in May that her, “entire life is being destroyed right now.” She added, “I’m not a racist. I did not mean to harm that man in any way.”