Birdwatcher won’t cooperate with prosecutors charging ‘Central Park Karen’ who called cops on him

Get the latest BPR news delivered free to your inbox daily. SIGN UP HERE.


The case against the woman who called police claiming an “African-American man” was threatening her in a New York City park has hit a wall.

The victim in the case, who was birdwatching at the time of the incident and videotaped Amy Cooper’s call to the police, is reportedly not cooperating with prosecutors.

(Image: CBS screenshot)

Christian Cooper, who is not related to the woman, feels she has been through enough and the criminal charge filed against her by the Manhattan district attorney on Monday would only add to her “misery,” The New York Times reported.

The Harvard-educated science editor, who decided not to cooperate with prosecutors after Amy Cooper was charged with filing a false police report against him, had told CBS News last month that the 41-year-old white woman “pulled the pin on the race grenade” when she called the police on him.

Cooper had asked the woman to leash her dog that Memorial Day weekend when they crossed paths in an area of the park where posted signs indicated the same. When he asked her not to approach him, Amy Cooper called 911, telling the dispatcher: “There is an African American man, I am in Central Park, he is recording me and threatening myself and my dog.”

She was slammed as the Central Park “Karen” after the video recorded by the birdwatcher was released and went viral. She was fired from her job at investment firm Franklin Templeton and had her dog taken away. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio condemned her actions at the time as “racism, plain and simple.”

Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., announced on Monday that Cooper would be charged with falsely reporting the incident in her call to police. The misdemeanor has a maximum penalty of one year in prison and Cooper was directed to appear in court on Oct. 14.

But Christian Cooper believes she has been punished enough.

“On the one hand, she’s already paid a steep price,” the 57-year-old said in a statement on Tuesday.

“That’s not enough of a deterrent to others? Bringing her more misery just seems like piling on,” he added. “So if the DA feels the need to pursue charges, he should pursue charges. But he can do that without me.”

And while some feel the woman should be held accountable by the criminal justice system for her actions, community leaders and those advocating for an overhaul of the system disagree.

BET host and Temple University Professor, Marc Lamont Hill, tweeted that the issue was a “struggle” for him and called to “resist the urge for retributive approaches.”

Journalist and lawyer Josie Duffy Rice believes pursuing charges against Cooper will just legitimize the criminal justice system.

“Charging her is the easy solution. It’s the easy way out. And it reinforces the idea that justice can only be found in the disastrous carceral system we’ve created,” she tweeted.

New York City’s Democrat mayor was happy with the charges being filed, tweeting out “Good.”

“Her racist behavior could have had dire consequences for a Black man,” he added. “Glad she’ll face consequences of her own.”

Many other Twitter users weighed in on Christian Cooper’s decision to not be “piling on” the woman who called police on him.

 

 

DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW

Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!

Success! Thank you for donating. Please share BPR content to help combat the lies.
Frieda Powers

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

BPR INSIDER COMMENTS

Scroll down for non-member comments or join our insider conversations by becoming a member. We'd love to have you!

Latest Articles