Manhattan DA's Decision to End Amy Cooper Prosecution Denounced

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The Black, Latino and Asian Caucus (BLAC), in the New York City Council, is denouncing the Manhattan District Attorney's decision to end the prosecution of Amy Cooper, who called the NYPD last year and made false allegations against a Black man who challenged her for violating city park rules.

BLAC released the following statement:

"We are livid at the Manhattan District Attorney’s office for halting its prosecution of Amy Cooper, which serves to validate the notion that white privilege shields offenders like her from penalties justice-involved persons of color would otherwise be subject. It defies comprehension that the DA criminally charged Ms. Cooper for maliciously using the 9-1-1 system to weaponize another parkgoer’s Blackness only to ultimately grant her leniency in the name of ‘restorative justice.’

"This decision is insulting, injurious and infuriating to the countless Black men who find themselves on the receiving end of dubious, racially bigoted claims like those made by Ms. Cooper, and again demonstrates that the law offers no relief for aggrieved Black people in America. We demand that the City’s Commission on Human Rights come to a swift resolution of its investigation into Amy Cooper, and produce a finding that results in civil penalties being imposed on her as a means of deterring anyone who would dare make false incident claims motivated by racial hostility."