Amy Cooper Should Be Probed for Filing False Claim
The Manhattan District Attorney announced today that Amy Cooper – the woman who called 911 on a Black birdwatcher in Central Park back in May – has been charged with filing a false police report. Its a misdemeanor carrying up to a year in jail.
I tell you what, this case has been bothering me since that video went viral. You watch it and its just… its textbook weaponization of race. Christian Cooper asked her to leash her dog in an area where leashes are required. Thats it. Thats the whole conflict. And her response was to call 911, emphasize that he was African American, and claim he was threatening her life.
He wasnt threatening anything. He was holding dog treats.
“Today our office initiated a prosecution of Amy Cooper for falsely reporting an incident in the third degree,” DA Cy Vance said in a statement. “We are strongly committed to holding perpetrators of this conduct accountable.”
The incident happened on May 25 – the same day institutional failures continue to make headlines and George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis. The two events became inextricably linked in the national conversation about race and policing. Both showed, in different but related ways, how dangerous it can be to be Black in America.
CNN reported that Amy Cooper actually made a second 911 call that wasnt captured on video, in which she claimed Christian Cooper “tried to assault her.” He did no such thing. When police arrived, she admitted no contact had occurred.
Christian Cooper, for his part, has said hes not interested in seeing her prosecuted. “Bringing her more misery just seems like piling on,” he told the New York Times. But he understands theres a larger principle at stake. Amy Cooper was fired from her job at Franklin Templeton. She temporarily lost her dog (though the rescue returned it to her after controversy). Her name is now synonymous with a certain type of racist behavior.
Is that punishment enough? The DA doesnt think so. And neither do a lot of people watching this case. False police reports against Black people have historically led to violence, wrongful arrests, and death. Theres a reason this matters.
Arraignment is scheduled for October 14.
