On Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020, Amy Cooper was arraigned remotely in a Manhattan court. Cooper’s claim to fame and crime occurred on May 25, when she racially profiled a Black man, Christian Cooper, at Central Park in New York City.
Christian Cooper was birdwatching at the park when he noticed that Amy Cooper did not have her dog on a leash. After telling her that she was in violation of a city ordinance, Amy Cooper became belligerent and appeared to call the police and claimed that she was being threatened by a Black man.
Christian Cooper recorded the incident on his cell phone and the clip eventually went viral. Amy Cooper lost her job, was forced to give up her dog, and was arrested and charged with falsely reporting an incident in the third degree, according to The New York Times.
However, during the arraignment on Tuesday, Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance revealed that Amy Cooper called the cops a second time and lied about being assaulted by Christian Cooper.
In a news release, the District Attorney’s office stated, “As alleged in the Complaint and as stated on the record in court by Executive Assistant D.A. Joan Illuzzi-Orbon, Ms. Cooper called 911 and told a NYPD dispatcher that a Black male was threatening her inside the Central Park Ramble. In a previously unreported second phone call, Ms. Cooper repeated the accusation and added that the man ‘tried to assault her.’ When responding officers arrived, Ms. Cooper admitted that the male had not ‘tried to assault’ or come into contact with her.”
On Tuesday, Illuzzi-Orbon stated, “Using the police in a way that is both racially offensive and designed to intimidate is something that can’t be ignored. This process can be an opportunity for introspection and education.”
