A Caucasian woman in New York, Amy Cooper is facing a criminal charge for falsely calling the police on a black man after he beckoned on her to put her dog on a leash in Central Park.
Cooper, who was filmed calling police in a viral video, is accused of filing a false report, punishable by up to one year in jail.
Ms Cooper subsequently was fired from her job and lost her dog after the incident, and publicly apologised.
Video of what transpired shows Ms Cooper claiming that the black man, who was bird watching, threatened her life.
The incident occurred on 25 May, the same day that unarmed African-American man George Floyd was fatally killed in police custody, triggering weeks of national and global anti-racism protests.
“Today our office initiated a prosecution of Amy Cooper for falsely reporting an incident in the third degree,” said Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance on Monday.
“We are strongly committed to holding perpetrators of this conduct accountable,” Mr Vance said. He also encouraged “anyone who has been the target of false reporting” to contact the district attorney’s office.
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