Melody Cooper/Twitter
- Amy Cooper’s case was dismissed Tuesday after completing a therapy program, the New York Times reported.
- Cooper was facing a falsely reporting an incident in the third-degree misdemeanor charge.
- Cooper was caught on video saying that Christian Cooper “threatened” her at Central Park last May.
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Charges against Amy Cooper, the white woman who was caught in a viral video calling the police on a Black man during an encounter at Central Park in New York City were dropped on Tuesday, the New York Times reported.
Cooper was charged with falsely reporting an incident in the third degree last year after she called the NYPD on Christian Cooper, a bird watcher, last May during a confrontation over her unleashed dog. During the incident, Amy Cooper dialed 911, telling authorities Christian had “threatened” her.
“I’m going to tell them there’s an African American man threatening my life,” Cooper said in the video.
According to the Times, Cooper’s case was dismissed by a Manhattan judge Tuesday following requests from prosecutors after she participated in a therapy program that concentrated on racial bias.
As CNN reported that the classes, which were offered to Cooper due to her misdemeanor charge, were provided by The Critical Therapy Center.
According to Illuzzi-Orbon, during her five therapy sessions, Amy's therapist reported that she " learned a lot in their sessions together," CNN reported.
"Given the issues at hand and Ms. Cooper's lack of criminal background, we offered her, consistent with our position on many misdemeanor cases involving a first arrest, an alternative, restorative justice resolution; designed not just to punish but to educate and promote community healing," Assistant District Attorney Joan Illuzzi-Orbon said, CNN reported.
—Melody Cooper (@melodyMcooper) May 25, 2020
Cooper was eventually terminated from her job and surrendered her dog after it was seen getting choked in the video. (The dog was later returned to her by an animal rescue.) Christian Cooper, who recorded the confrontation on his phone, had spoken out about the charges against Amy Cooper and his lack of interest in her investigation.
"On the one hand, she's already paid a steep price. That's not enough of a deterrent to others? Bringing her more misery just seems like piling on," Christian Cooper said in a statement to the New York Times last summer.
"I think it's a mistake to focus on this one individual," Cooper wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post, explaining that he "must err on the side of compassion and choose not to be involved in this prosecution."
"The important thing the incident highlights is the long-standing, deep-seated racial bias against us black and brown folk that permeates the United States," Cooper continued.
"Focusing on charging Amy Cooper lets white people off the hook from all that," he added.
Robert Barnes, Amy's attorney, thanked the New York District Attorney's Office for their decision to dismiss charges.
"After a thorough & honest inquiry, the New York DA's office dismissed all charges today against #AmyCooper. We thank them for their integrity & concur w/ the outcome," Robert Barnes, Cooper's lawyer, wrote on Twitter Tuesday morning. "Others rushed to the wrong conclusion based on inadequate investigation & they may yet face legal consequences."