Two months ago, or three years in 2020 time, a video was uploaded showing a white woman calling the police and making a false accusation against a Black man after he simply asked her to put a leash on her dog. The video resulted in the woman losing her job, temporarily losing her dog and becoming May’s Karen of the Month. Now, according to the Manhattan district attorney, it has also resulted in her facing charges.
The New York Times reports that Amy Cooper will face misdemeanor charges for calling the cops and making a false accusation against Christian Cooper, the Black man who recorded the video. “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” Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance announced Monday. A desk appearance ticket was sent to Cooper and she is scheduled to be arraigned on Oct. 14. If convicted, Cooper could be sentenced with counseling, community service or possibly up to a year in jail time.
Christian Cooper was bird watching in Central Park over Memorial Day weekend when he saw that Amy Cooper had her dog unleashed. The two were in the Ramble, an area of the park where dogs are required to be leashed. Christian Cooper asked Amy Cooper to leash her dog and when she refused, he attempted to lure the dog with treats in an effort to convince the woman to obey the rules of the park. Amy Cooper decided the appropriate reaction to this was to call the cops and tell them that a Black man was threatening her life.
“I’m in the Ramble, there is a man, African-American, he has a bicycle helmet and he is recording me and threatening me and my dog,” Cooper said during the call. “I am being threatened by a man in the Ramble, please send the cops immediately!” She added before ending the call. Cooper could be seen gripping her dog tightly by the collar as she made the call. Amy Cooper eventually puts a leash on the dog to which Christian Cooper says “Thank you,” and stops recording shortly after.
Amy Cooper has since issued a public apology on the matter. “I want to apologize to Christian Cooper for my actions when I encountered him in Central Park yesterday. I reacted emotionally and made false assumptions about his intentions when, in fact, I was the one who was acting inappropriately by not having my dog on a leash.” Amy Cooper said.
Hopefully, we’ll continue to see consequences against those who engage in this behavior. Making a false accusation against a Black person could very likely result in their death at the hands of police. While this situation thankfully ended without any serious escalation, the fact is this could’ve gotten really bad, really fast all because a white woman didn’t want to follow the rules.