TRENTON, N.J. (1010 WINS) — Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill on Monday that has made it a crime for 911 callers to harass or intimidate someone based on race or another protected class or file a false police report to harass or intimidate people of color.
"Using the threat of a 911 call or police report as an intimidation tactic against people of color is an unacceptable, abhorrent form of discrimination," Murphy said in a statement Monday night."This irresponsible misuse of our 911 system places victims in a potentially dangerous situation, and can erode trust between Black and Brown New Jerseyans and law enforcement."
The new law was signed amid ongoing protests across the United States following the police killing of George Floyd, a Black man who died after a White officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes in May.
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In June, a now-viral video captured Amy Cooper, a White dog walker called police on a black birdwatcher in Central Park was trying to after he asked her to put her dog back on its leash.
"I'm going to tell them there's an African-American man threatening my life," Amy Cooper can be heard saying.
