Source: New York Daily News / Getty
This news sadly comes as no surprise to many.
The criminal case against Amy Cooper, aka “Central Park Karen,” who called the police on a Black bird-watcher falsely claiming he threatened her, has been dismissed. The New York Times reports that on Tuesday (Feb.16) that a senior prosecutor, Joan Illuzzi-Orbon, asked a judge during a hearing in a Manhattan Criminal Court to dismiss the single misdemeanor charge against Cooper and the judge agreed.
According to the New York Times, Cooper was facing up to a year in jail if she was convicted but avoided that after completing a therapeutic program that included instruction about racial biases. Cooper’s therapist revealed she underwent five sessions and that they were “a moving experience” and that “Ms. Cooper learned a lot.”
As expected, Black and Brown people are understandably upset, disappointed, but not surprised that the flawed “criminal justice system” allowed Cooper to walk away without even going to trial or entering a guilty plea.
“Ms. Cooper’s therapist reported that their 5 sessions together were ‘a moving experience’ & that Ms. Cooper ‘learned a lot.’”
5 sessions? How many if the cops had shown up & killed him? 6? 7?
Scarlett Johansson definitely plays her in the movie, right? https://t.co/lIaiZUqlyi
— W. Kamau Bell (@wkamaubell) February 16, 2021
Illuzzi-Orbon also revealed the deal in which she only had to attend an educational program to avoid jail was offered to Cooper becuase this was her first offense and “designed not just to punish but to educate and promote community healing.”
Riggghhtt.
The victim, Christian Cooper, hasn’t said much since the incident that could have gone down as one of the many other incidents involving unarmed Black men and the police. Cooper has even shown compassion to “Central Park Karen,” telling the New York Times in an interview following the racist encounter, “I don’t know if her life needed to be torn apart.”
Despite Christain Cooper taking the more forgiving route, the outrage following the video going viral was swift, and “Central Park Karen” got fired on her day off. Unfortunately, she won’t be held accountable in a court of law. Just add this to the long list of white folks not facing any consequences for being racist.
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Photo: New York Daily News / Getty
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