Yesterday, we discussed how the NYPD had actually decided to charge “Central Park Karen” Amy Cooper with a misdemeanor. Amy Cooper called 911 and feigned hysteria about an “African-American man threatening me” because he told her to leash her dog. The way she almost gleefully feigned hysteria and panic was really something, and you could tell that she was so happy at the very idea of getting the police to murder a black man for asking her to follow Central Park regulations. The man in question is Christian Cooper, a bird-watcher and beautiful nerd who merely filmed Amy Cooper’s horrendous actions. Christian has gotten a lot of positive attention from the incident and he’s used that attention to promote bird-watching and racial justice. But when it comes to Amy Cooper, he doesn’t think she should be charged or prosecuted:
The Manhattan district attorney’s decision to charge a white woman with filing a false police report against a Black man in Central Park does not have the support of one key person: the victim himself. The man, Christian Cooper, has not cooperated with the prosecution’s investigation. The woman, Amy Cooper, lost her job and was publicly shamed after a video Mr. Cooper made on May 25 was posted online; it showed her calling 911 to claim an “African-American man” was threatening her. Those consequences alone, Mr. Cooper said at the time, were in his view perhaps too much punishment.
“On the one hand, she’s already paid a steep price,” Mr. Cooper said in a statement on Tuesday. “That’s not enough of a deterrent to others? Bringing her more misery just seems like piling on.” But he added that he understood there was a greater principle at stake and that this should be defended. “So if the DA feels the need to pursue charges, he should pursue charges. But he can do that without me.”
Mr. Cooper’s decision not to cooperate may present some challenges for prosecutors. But it also reflects a wider debate among people who generally consider themselves allies in the growing movement to call attention to and fight racism, not just in policing, but in society.
Christian Cooper is a better and more compassionate person than me. I want all of these unhinged Karens and Kens locked up. I know there are great arguments on both sides, arguments about our flawed criminal justice system, arguments about compassion and grace. But I still think about how easy it was for Amy Cooper to call 911 and pretend that she was being “threatened.” Think about how easy it would have been for the story to have an even more tragic ending. Prosecute this bitch.
Speaking of, did you guys see the stuff about The CAREN Act? The CAREN Act should be a national bill.
Racist 911 calls are unacceptable that's why I'm introducing the CAREN Act at today’s SF Board of Supervisors meeting. This is the CAREN we need. Caution Against Racially Exploitative Non-Emergencies. #CARENact #sanfrancisco
— Shamann Walton (@shamannwalton) July 7, 2020
Photos courtesy of social media, IG.
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