The New York City man at the center of the “Central Park Karen” incident said he will not help Manhattan prosecutors with their investigation into Amy Cooper.
Christian Cooper, 57, who has no relation to Amy, told the New York Times on Tuesday that Amy, 41, has been through enough since the May incident that destroyed her reputation and career.
Authorities charged Amy on Monday with one count of falsely reporting an incident in the third degree. She is due in court on October 14 to answer for the charges and could face up to a year in prison for calling 911.
“On the one hand, she’s already paid a steep price,” Christian told the Times, referring to the criminal charge. “That’s not enough of a deterrent to others?”
“Bringing her more misery just seems like piling on,” the birdwatcher added. “So if the DA feels the need to pursue charges, he should pursue charges. But he can do that without me,” he said, adding that there are greater principles at stake.
In May, Amy drew widespread scorn for calling 911 to report that she was being threatened by a black man when bird watcher Christian appeared to keep his distance while recording the woman’s rant on his phone.
Amy later sent out a statement through a public relations firm apologizing for the incident, saying she “reacted emotionally and made false assumptions about his intentions.”
However, the apology was not enough to save her job and her reputation. The investment firm Franklin Templeton where she worked fired her after a video of the incident went viral on social media.