The white woman who called 911 on a Black bird watcher in Central Park will now face charges for her actions, reports CNN. According to the district attorney, Amy Cooper will now face a charge of falsely reporting an incident in the third degree for calling the cops on Christian Cooper.
“At this time, I would like to encourage anyone who has been the target of false reporting to contact our Office. We are strongly committed to holding perpetrators of this conduct accountable,” District Attorney Cyrus Vance said in a statement.
Last month, Amy was walking her dog in the park when Christian noticed that the dog was not on a leash. The park rules state that dogs have to be on a leash at all times. Christian, an avid bird watcher, politely asked Amy to put her dog back on the leash. She started to hysterically call the cops and say that he threatened her life. Christian recorded the encounter and the video went viral on social media.
“I’m taking a picture and calling the cops,” she said to Christian. “I’m going to tell them there’s an African-American man threatening my 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,” Amy said to the 911 operator. While she was on the phone, she almost strangled her dog as she tried to restrain it from running off.
After the video went viral, Amy was fired from her job as head of insurance portfolio management at Franklin Templeton. Her dog was also surrendered back to the cocker spaniel rescue group she adopted him from. The dog has since been given back to her.
A desk appearance ticket has been issued for Amy and she is scheduled for arraignment on Oct. 14. If convicted, she could receive a conditional discharge or be sentenced to counseling or community service. She is reportedly not facing any jail time.