‘Central Park Karen’ Amy Cooper’s misdemeanor charge was dropped

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Last year, Amy Cooper became “Central Park Karen,” and thus, a national/international story. Her unleashed dog was causing issues in Central Park, and a birdwatcher named Christian Cooper told her to leash her dog. Amy Cooper freaked out on him, menaced him, called 911 and (as he filmed her) performed her white-woman hysteria for the 911 operator, claiming that an “African-American man is threatening my life.” It’s worth noting – as we found out several months later – that after the initial incident filmed by Christian Cooper, Amy Cooper left that area and CALLED 911 AGAIN. She was that insistent that the cops come to Central Park to murder a Black man on her orders. This racist bitch is beyond deranged. Soon after the video went viral, Amy Cooper was charged with a misdemeanor of falsely reporting an incident. Now the charge has been dropped:

The criminal case against Amy Cooper, a white woman who called the police on a Black bird-watcher in Central Park and falsely reported that he had threatened her, was dismissed on Tuesday after Ms. Cooper completed a therapeutic program that included instruction about racial biases.

At a hearing in Manhattan Criminal Court, a senior prosecutor asked a judge to dismiss the single misdemeanor charge against Ms. Cooper — falsely reporting an incident — and the judge agreed. Ms. Cooper had faced up to a year in jail if convicted.

The resolution of the case without a trial or a guilty plea was for some an anticlimactic ending to an incident that had provoked intense discussions across the country about how Black people are harmed by false reports to the police.

The prosecutor, Joan Illuzzi-Orbon, said Ms. Cooper had participated in five therapy sessions that focused in part on how racial identities shape people’s lives. Her therapist had reported that the sessions were “a moving experience” and that Ms. Cooper “learned a lot,” Ms. Illuzzi-Orbon said.

She said that Ms. Cooper had been offered the deal to attend an educational program in return for having the charge dismissed in part because it was her first arrest. The deal, the prosecutor said, was “designed not just to punish but to educate and promote community healing.”

Ms. Illuzzi-Orbon said the resolution fell under the rubric of restorative justice, an alternative to traditional prosecution that looks at the harm done and seeks reconciliation among the parties, including the offender, the victim and the community.

[From The NY Times]

Restorative justice for white women who lie to cops in an attempt to get them to murder Black men. Yeah, I’ll pass. I mean, I get this from a legal perspective, it was her first charge, it was just a misdemeanor, plenty of people strike these kinds of deals. But… the problem was that she was charged the wrong way. What she did was a felony. She literally weaponized her whiteness and tried to murder someone by proxy. F–k her.

Also: Amy Cooper’s lawyer seems to be saying that she was falsely accused (she was not) and that she will “tell her story this week.” Good. I hope this woman keeps talking and ruins her own life completely.

central park karen2

Photos courtesy of social media.

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17 Responses to “‘Central Park Karen’ Amy Cooper’s misdemeanor charge was dropped”

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  1. Mabs A'Mabbin says:

    And this is why shit never gets better.

  2. greenleaf says:

    Yeah, there are black women in jail for voting in the wrong place. I don’t know how people can deny systemic racism in the justice system. For what it’s worth, Christian Cooper refused to cooperate with the investigation and wanted the charges dropped. He’s a better person than I am.

    • Louise177 says:

      That’s my thinking too that because Christian was uncooperative the charges were dropped. His choice but I feel it’s a bad idea. This woman, and others like her, will just do it again since she didn’t get punished. The next victim may not be so lucky.

    • whatWHAT? says:

      I’m wondering if Mr. Cooper felt that way because he KNEW he’d become much more well known and, therefore, become a target if he cooperated.

      and FULLY agree with you on systemic racism in the justice system. it’s sickening.

  3. Elizabeth says:

    This is ridiculous!!! Ugh I’m so angry. Restorative justice is for the poor, not this privileged monster.

  4. Ms. Lib says:

    LOVE IT!!!!
    Restorative justice for white women who lie to cops in an attempt to get them to murder Black men.

  5. lucy2 says:

    Tell her story??? We all saw her story, plain as day. If she had any sense, she’d change her name and try to stay as under the radar as possible, send a private apology to her victim via the DA or whatever, and be thanking her lucky stars she didn’t go to jail.

  6. Sarah says:

    White women’s tears are the best defence one again.

  7. Jay (the Canadian one) says:

    Did any of her lessons include a discussion of racial bias in the legal system?

  8. Miranda says:

    I’m still in awe of Christian Cooper’s level-headedness throughout the encounter. And I’m infuriated that PoC are practically forced to hyper-develop that trait as a simple matter of survival.

    I feel like Mr. Cooper should’ve had more of a say in this. If he had met or spoken with her following her counseling, and she made a sincere apology that he was gracious enough to accept (which he should certainly not feel obligated to do), sure, drop the charges. In fact, when it comes to violent crime, an offender might not even be considered a candidate for a restorative justice program unless they show a willingness to confront their own behavior and sit down with and apologize to their victim(s).

    • lucy2 says:

      My understanding was that he declined to participate in the prosecutor’s case.

      Agree 100% with your first paragraph.

      • Miranda says:

        Ohhhh, so THAT is what her side of the story is going to be, isn’t it? She wants recognition for doing the barest minimum, but that mean black man wouldn’t listen! Doesn’t he know that PoC are legally required to exceed the patience and understanding of Christ himself when it comes to white nonsense? He should be grateful that she deigned to speak with him at all!

        (Ugh, I made myself a bit nauseous just typing that.)

  9. Izzy says:

    So many fragile people whined about the fact that she lost her job, meanwhile it’s the worst consequence she faced for what she did. Fck her.

  10. Spaghetti says:

    This woman is filled with hate and there’s no way she’ll be able to find a similarly good job again.

    • Jane Doe says:

      Harmful descructive people like this get equivalent jobs and continue to advance their careers all the time. Thats how the world works.

  11. Jennifer says:

    I’m also still blown away that the rescue group gave the poor dog back to her. That sends a wrong message too, IMO. She’s vile. Even if Christian Cooper declined to participate in the prosecution, it was on video. It was clear as day. That along with her call to 911. Why wasn’t that enough for the prosecution to move forward in this case? And “tell her story this week”? Trick, your story was caught on video and on audio via your BS 911 call. This racist crap person doesn’t deserve a soap box to tell her BS side. Period.

  12. Trashaddict says:

    No consequences for dog-walker Karen, Capitol insurrectionist murderers, and a frankly criminal president, and on and on. People act as if there’s something wrong with “making an example” out of offenders, like they are being unfairly singled out. But it’s a really basic tenet of behavioral psychology that if there’s no negative consequence for bad behaviors, they won’t stop, and our government and society don’t seem to understand this. In some ways the COVID pandemic has been a perverse blessing for me, there are too many greedy, inconsiderate individuals out there without any self-discipline. Stupidity and meanness have reached pandemic levels and isolation reduces our exposure, but it’s never going to be a cure. At least I find that Celebitchies are relatively safe.