The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office revealed Wednesday that the white woman who called 911 on a Black birdwatcher in Central Park in May was charged with falsely accusing him of trying to assault her in a previously unreported second phone call to 911.
Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance said Wednesday that Amy Cooper, 40, had been charged in New York County Criminal Court with falsely reporting an incident in the third degree, a misdemeanor, "for falsely reporting an assault."
Cooper had previously been accused of calling 911 on May 25 and falsely claiming that Christian Cooper, who is not related to her, was threatening her inside the Central Park Ramble.
But the DA’s Office announced Wednesday that in a second, previously unreported phone call, Cooper allegedly repeated the accusation and added that the man had “tried to assault her.”
When officers arrived, Cooper admitted that the man hadn’t tried to assault her, according to the DA’s Office.
“Our office is committed to safety, justice, and anti-racism, and we will hold people who make false and racist 911 calls accountable,” Vance said in a statement Wednesday. “As alleged in the complaint, Amy Cooper engaged in racist criminal conduct when she falsely accused a Black man of trying to assault her in a previously unreported second call with a 911 dispatcher. Fortunately, no one was injured or killed in the police response to Ms. Cooper’s hoax. Our office will pursue a resolution of this case which holds Ms. Cooper accountable while healing our community, restoring justice, and deterring others from perpetuating this racist practice.”