Former Marvel editor Christian Cooper does not wish to press charges against Amy Cooper for threatening to file a false police report on him, despite the Manhattan D.A. office going ahead with charges.
According to The New York Times, Cooper made a statement yesterday on his thoughts about Mrs. Cooper being further prosecuted. "On the one hand, she’s already paid a steep price," he said, noting that Amy Cooper has been fired from her job and lost custody of her dog, the latter of which was the catalyst for their encounter. "That’s not enough of a deterrent to others? Bringing her more misery just seems like piling on."
At the same time, Cooper noted how rare it is for citizens to be charged with filing false police reports, as they are often difficult to prove. His video, by comparison, offered visual proof that contradicted the claims Mrs. Cooper was trying to make. Ultimately Cooper felt that "if the DA feels the need to pursue charges, he should pursue charges. But he can do that without me."
On May 25, Christian Cooper was birdwatching in Central Park when he ran into Amy Cooper and asked if she could leash her dog, as the park's policies required it. When the woman reacted with hostility, Christian began to film their encounter, causing Amy to threaten to call 911 and claim that "an African-American man is threatening my life." The video has since received over 40 million views.
Should Amy Cooper be found guilty of these charges, she could spend up to a year in jail. The video has come at a time when America is re-contextualizing the ways in which white people vs. Black people are viewed as targets of suspicion, and has drawn attention to other cases of white Americans calling the police on Black citizens for various actions under the claim of being "threatened."