Senator Royce West Calls for Arrest of Amy Cooper

Press Release

State Senator Royce West (D-Dallas), candidate for U.S. Senate in the July 14 Democratic Primary Runoff, on Monday called for the arrest of Amy Cooper, a woman walking her dog in New York's Central Park who threatened to have an African American man arrested after falsely claiming he threatened her life.

The incident, which occurred last week, happened after Christian Cooper, an African American man who was bird-watching, alerted Amy Cooper she was walking her dog off-leash in an area of the park that did not allow for off-leash walking. The woman then called police and claimed a black man was threatening her life.

Although neither party was present when police arrived, the video of Amy Cooper claiming she was calling the police has gone viral on social media.

"Making a false police report is illegal in New York as it is in Texas and many other states. This type of conduct must be addressed," West said.

"This type of conduct is what creates an atmosphere that can result in African Americans being falsely arrested, shot, or killed by police. People who attempt to weaponize the police against African Americans and other minorities must be held accountable."

West was aware that Amy Cooper has apologized, but still believes she should be held accountable.

"We need more than a slap on the wrist here to deter this from happening again. This woman displayed explicit bias in claiming an African American man was causing her to fear for her life," West continued.

"She wasted police time on racist garbage because she didn't want to leash her dog. The New York penal code should be used here to its fullest extent," West said.

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