Black birdwatcher targeted by woman in Central Park refuses to co-operate with police saying she's already paid a large enough price

Christian Cooper said assisting with the investigation would be 'piling on'

Christian Cooper, the black Central Park birdwatcher who recroded Amy Cooper calling the police on him, has said the white New Yorker had “already paid a steep price” and would not cooperate with the Manhattan attorney’s investigation into the incident.

Mr Cooper said this week that he would not assist with the investigation against Amy Cooper, who was dismissed from work and widely shamed after she was videoed calling 911 to claim “an African-American man” had threatened her in Central Park.

In a statement to The New York Times, Mr Cooper said those consequences alone were enough and that his assistance with the investigation would be “piling on”.

“On the one hand, she’s already paid a steep price,” said Mr Cooper on Tuesday. “That’s not enough of a deterrent to others? Bringing her more misery just seems like piling on.”

“If the DA feels the need to pursue charges, he should pursue charges. But he can do that without me,” he added.

“Ask yourself what criminal charges can do to Amy Cooper that hasn’t already been done?” wrote Duffy Rice, who works with the criminal justice non-profit The Appeal, on Twitter.

“Has she not faced consequences? She did something absolutely horrible and she lost her job, her dog, her personal business was on the front page of the paper,” she added.

New York mayor Bill de Blasio said he was “glad” to see Manhattan district attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr., announce plans to charge Cooper with falsely reporting the confrontation on Monday.

She could be imprisoned for one year with a conviction.

“Her racist behavior could have had dire consequences for a Black man,” wrote Mr de Blasio on Twitter. “Glad she’ll face consequences of her own.”

Millions have now seen the video showing the Central Park confrontation that took place on Memorial Day, when Minneapolis police also killed an unarmed black, George Floyd, and sparked nationwide protests against systemic racism and police violence.