Amy Cooper made a second 911 call to falsely accuse Black birdwatcher of assault
Prosecutors revealed on Wednesday the white woman called police a second time, not seen in the viral video.
Amy Cooper — who called police on Black birdwatcher Christian Cooper — made a second 911 call that day to falsely accuse him of assault, a prosector revealed on Wednesday (Oct. 14). The white woman claimed Christian had “tried to assault her” after he asked her to leash her dog in New York City’s Central Park.
“The defendant twice reported that an African American man was putting her in danger, first by stating that he was threatening her and her dog, then making a second call indicating that he tried to assault her in the Ramble area of the park,” Senior Prosecutor Joan Illuzzi said, per The New York Times.
Amy was charged with a misdemeanor for filing a false police report due to the first 911 call. During Wednesday’s hearing, the prosecutor said she called police in a way that was “both racially offensive and designed to intimidate,” adding that the incident was “something that can’t be ignored.”
According to NYT, prosecutors are seeking a punishment that would require Amy to take public responsibility for her actions and enroll in a program that would educate her on why they were harmful.
“We hope this process will enlighten, heal and prevent similar harm to our community in the future,” the prosecutor said.
Amy’s case was adjourned until Nov. 17 to give her legal team and prosecutors time to come to an agreement. So far, she has not received additional charges for the second false police report.
According to the criminal complaint, after Amy called 911 twice and cops arrived, she told them that she had lied and Christian had not tried to assault her. Her current misdemeanor charge is punishable by up to one year in jail.
“We will hold people who make false and racist 911 calls accountable,” Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. said in a statement. “Fortunately, no one was injured or killed in the police response to Ms. Cooper’s hoax.”
In an interview on Wednesday, Christian said the problem at hand is “not about Amy Cooper,” but a larger societal issue.
“My response is very simple: we have to make sure we don’t get distracted,” he told reporters. “We have a very important goal — and we have to stay focused on it — which is reforming policing [and] getting systemic change to the structural racism in our society.”