Harlem Senator's Bill Adds False Reporting To Hate Crimes List

HARLEM, NY — A Harlem state senator is pushing to pass legislation that would add the false reporting of a crime to a list of charges eligible for hate crime status after a white woman called the police on a black man in Central Park for asking her to leash her dog.

Sen. Brian Benjamin introduced a bill this year that would make it a hate crime to call the police on a person of color when no crime has occurred. Benjamin said that he will ensure his bill is a "top priority" in the upcoming legislative session after video of Wall Street executive Amy Cooper threatening avid birdwatcher Christian Cooper went viral on social media. Benjamin's bill would qualify false reporting in the third, second and first degrees as a "specified offense," which means that a charge can carry an added hate crime distinction.

"It is frightening that this incident happened just blocks from where many of my constituents live and that this woman was so willing to fabricate a story despite being filmed. I worry that if she had not been filmed this woman may have been given the benefit of the doubt, and that this man could have faced serious, perhaps life threatening consequences if the police had arrived," Benjamin said in a statement.

Similar legislation was first proposed in 2018 by former Brooklyn State Sen. Jesse Hamilton. Hamilton introduced his bill after he was the victim of a police call by a Trump supporter while he was campaigning for reelection.

"We need to send a message loud and clear that if you falsely put someone's life at risk you will end up facing very serious consequences," Benjamin added.

Brooklyn State Assemblymember Felix Ortiz is sponsoring a version of the bill in the State Assembly.

Amy Cooper has been fired from her job, surrendered her dog back to an adoption agency and apologized for her actions on national news programs since the video was uploaded Monday afternoon. The altercation between Cooper and bird watcher Christian Cooper — no relation — started when the birder asked Cooper to leash her dog in the Ramble.

In a Facebook post, Christian Cooper wrote that he approached Amy Cooper because her dog was "tearing through the plantings" in the ramble. When Cooper declined to leash her dog, Christian Cooper said "if you're going to do what you want, I'm going to do what I want, but you're not going to like it," and began to offer dog treats to Cooper's cocker spaniel.

Christian Cooper told CNN that he keeps dog treats on him because offering them to unleashed dogs usually get their owners to restrain them on the leash. The birder told CNN that he was "actually pretty calm," during his entire interaction with the dog owner.

Video of the ensuing altercation between Christian Cooper and Amy Cooper shows that the bird watcher remained that calm even as the woman called the police on him. At the beginning of the video, Christian Cooper tells Amy not to approach him and says "please call the cops" and "tell them whatever you like" after an initial threat to do so.

"I'm in the Ramble and there's a man — African-American — he has a bicycle helmet. He's recording me and threatening me and my dog," Amy Cooper says after calling the police.

"I'm being threatened by a man in the Ramble, please send the cops immediately," Cooper continues in a distressed voice.