The white woman who called 911 on a Black birdwatcher in Central Park was arraigned during a remote court appearance on Wednesday. And prosecutors now say Amy Cooper, 41, made a second call claiming she had been nearly assaulted, which was a fabrication.

Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance charged Cooper with Falsely Reporting an Incident in the Third Degree, a misdemeanor, for allegedly lying about the assault in a 911 call she made from the Central Park Ramble on May 25th, 2020.

The incident became viral because the birdwatcher, Christian Cooper (no relation), filmed his encounter, documenting another example of a white person weaponizing the police against people of color. According to his account on Facebook, he had pointed out the sign that says dogs must be leashed in the Ramble, to which Amy Cooper said her dog needed off-leash exercise because dog runs were closed due to the pandemic at the time.

Christian Cooper suggested they go outside the Ramble, but she refused. After more back and forth, the video shows Amy Cooper approaching him, while he's a good distance away from her. He asks her, "Please don't come close to me," while continuing to request that she leash her dog. The video shows Amy Cooper holding her dog by the collar and lifting it in the air repeatedly, as she calls a 911 operator. In a distressed voice, she is heard telling the operator—while Christian Cooper remains stationary and at a distance—"I'm in the Ramble and there was a man—African American, he has a bicycle helmet... there's an African-American man, I'm in Central Park, and he's recording me and threatening myself and my dog!.. I'm being threatened by a man in Central Park! Please send the cops immediately!"

When Amy Cooper finally leashes her dog, Christian Cooper thanks her and stops filming, according to the video.

The D.A.'s office revealed in a press release, "As alleged in the Complaint and as stated on the record in court by Executive Assistant D.A. Joan Illuzzi, Ms. Cooper called 911 and told a NYPD dispatcher that a Black male was threatening her inside the Central Park Ramble. In a previously unreported second phone call, Ms. Cooper repeated the accusation and added that the man 'tried to assault her.' When responding officers arrived, Ms. Cooper admitted that the male had not 'tried to assault' or come into contact with her." 

In court on Wednesday, prosecutor Joan Illuzzi-Orbon said, "Using the police in a way that is both racially offensive and designed to intimidate is something that can’t be ignored. This process can be an opportunity for introspection and education."

Amy Cooper lost her job, temporarily had her dog taken away from her, and was widely dubbed another "Karen," i.e. a white woman who uses her privilege to threaten and bully Black people.

Right after the incident, Christian Cooper explained that he filmed the incident because "I'm not going to participate in my own dehumanization. I'm not going to feed into this. We live in an age of Ahmaud Arbery, where black men are gunned down because of assumptions people make about black men, black people, and I’m just not going to participate in that." Later, he told the NY Times, “Any of us can make — not necessarily a racist mistake, but a mistake. And to get that kind of tidal wave in such a compressed period of time, it’s got to hurt. It’s got to hurt... I’m not excusing the racism. But I don’t know if her life needed to be torn apart."

The NY Post reports that the Manhattan D.A.'s office is discussing "with Cooper and her defense lawyer Robert Barnes a program that would have her take responsibility for her actions and educate her and the public."