Central Park Karen Charged With Filing False Report

It was the Karen that broke the camel's back.

On May 25th, 2020, the same day a former police officer kneeled on the neck of George Floyd, killing him, Amy Cooper called the police on Black bird watcher in Central Park. The call and subsequent viral video of Cooper talking to 911, emphasizing the race of the man asking her to leash her dog, became a pivotal moment of today's Black Lives Matter movement. And while many may have forgotten Amy Cooper's name, the courts haven't.

Yesterday, authorities charged Cooper with filing a false report. The charge is more than a slap on the wrist. It is punishable by up to a year in prison.

Christian Cooper, no relation, the man harassed by Ms. Cooper, filmed the altercation. His video has been viewed nearly 50 million times on Facebook and Twitter. The video's spread helped articulate ongoing discussions about how the police are used against Black Americans without cause. The charge against Amy Cooper, according to the New York Times, "appears to be among the first that a white person in the United States has faced for wrongfully calling the police to make a complaint about a Black person."

Oh, when Karens take a walk with their dogs off leash in the famous Bramble in NY’s Central Park, where it is clearly posted on signs that dogs MUST be leashed at all times, and someone like my brother (an avid birder) politely asks her to put her dog on the leash. pic.twitter.com/3YnzuATsDm

— Melody Cooper (@melodyMcooper) May 25, 2020

Ms. Cooper's attorney, Robert Barns, criticized the charges, calling them part of a "cancel culture epidemic."

"She lost her job, her home, and her public life," Barnes said. "Now some demand her freedom? How many lives are we going to destroy over misunderstood 60-second videos on social media?"

Christian Cooper, who has thus far had very little response to the incident, continues to have very little to say about the incident. While he said that he "had zero involvement" in the case or the charges, he told reporters that he has "no reaction" to them.

In the months since Karen has become part of the cultural lexicon and one of the most reliable sources of viral videos. Clips of white women calling the police spread through the internet like wildfire, with some using the name "Karen" to describe a woman who weaponizes their privilege against a person of color.

However, as these cases grew, and videos became more and more violent, some argue that the name has had an adverse effect. Instead of calling attention to the problem, critics of the name say it trivializes these situations.

Stop calling them Karens and call them what they are: white women. Whites women weaponizing their emotions as a means to manipulate. They are your mothers, sisters, wives. A lot of you bitches move like Karens in real life, every day. Cut the shit.

— Charlotte Abotsi (@CharlotteAbotsi) June 29, 2020

this is not a "karen" this is a violent white supremacist. "karen" has become a convenient way to obfuscate how white women act as agents of racist violence whether they wield weapons themselves or use the police/other state forces https://t.co/9cBAXOHpcp

— seungu 승우 (@joseonfag) July 2, 2020

Amy Cooper apologized for the incident, saying that she was wrong for not leashing her dog.

"I reacted emotionally and made false assumptions about his intentions when, in fact, I was the one who was acting inappropriately by not having my dog on a leash," she said.

The problem of police being called on Black people in New York City is a long-standing one. The Times writes that last month, New York lawmakers approved legislation that allowed people a "'a private right of action' if they believe someone called a police officer on them because of their race, gender, nationality or other protected class."