image copyrightChristian Cooper
image captionChristian Cooper filmed Amy Cooper after she refused to stop her dog running through woodland
A white woman who called police on a black man bird-watching in New York’s Central Park had made a second call accusing him of attempted assault, it has emerged.
Amy Cooper appeared in court on Wednesday charged with falsely reporting an incident.
The viral video showed Ms Cooper threaten Christian Cooper, no relation, with the police when he asked her to put her dog on the lead.
The incident happened on Memorial Day.
It took place on the same day in May that unarmed black man George Floyd died in police custody in Minneapolis, triggering weeks of national and global anti-racism protests.
Ms Cooper lost her job and dog after the incident, and publicly apologised.
The defendant did not enter a plea when she appeared before the judge but the prosecutor said they were pursuing “a resolution of this case which holds Ms Cooper accountable while healing our community, restoring justice, and deterring others from perpetuating this racist practice”.
The charge of filing a false report is punishable by up to one year in jail.
Oh, when Karens take a walk with their dogs off leash in the famous Bramble in NYs Central Park, where it is clearly posted on signs that dogs MUST be leashed at all times, and someone like my brother (an avid birder) politely asks her to put her dog on the leash. pic.twitter.com/3YnzuATsDm
— Melody Cooper (@melodyMcooper) May 25, 2020
Christian Cooper, who is prominent in the New York bird watching community, filmed his encounter with Ms Cooper, 41, after he asked her to put her dog on a lead to keep it from scaring away birds.
Mr Cooper, 57, said he offered the dog treats, as a way to convince Ms Cooper to contain her dog.
In response, Ms Cooper called emergency services. She told them: “I’m in the Ramble,” – a wooded area in Central Park – “there is a man, African American, he has a bicycle helmet and he is recording me and threatening me and my dog,” as her tone rose in apparent distress.
“I am being threatened by a man in the Ramble, please send the cops immediately!” she said.
Prosecutors said that, in the second, previously unreported call, Ms Cooper repeated her accusation and said he had “tried to assault her”. She admitted to the police who responded to her call that the male had made no physical contact with her.
Mr Cooper, in a statement to CNN on Wednesday, said his focus “has been and continues to be on fixing policing and addressing systemic racism like we saw in that incident”.
Home>>Festivals>>Amy Cooper allegedly made a second 911 call accusing a black bird-watcher of attempted assault.
Festivals