Andrew Cuomo wants to make false, Amy Cooper 911 calls a hate crime
The New York governor is giving an old bill new life as part of a broader reform plan
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Amy Cooper made headlines in May after a viral video showed her needlessly calling 911 and falsely claiming a Black man was threatening her life at Central Park in New York City.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo is now pushing for a bill to make false emergency calls a hate crime.
According to The New York Post, the bill Cuomo wants state lawmakers to pass was first introduced by assembly Assistant Speaker Felix Ortiz in 2018.
Cuomo spoke of the bill on his June 5 press conference.
READ MORE: Amy Cooper should be arrested for blatantly lying to police, endangering black people everywhere
“We’ve seen 911 calls which are race-based, false calls,” Cuomo stated. “A false 911 call based on race should be classified as a hate crime in the state of New York.”
The Democratic governor plans to add the piece of legislation to al ist of law enforcement reform he is advocating for. According to Ortiz, violators could face up to one to five years in prison based on current hate crime statutes.
The reform package includes banning chokeholds in New York law enforcement, increasing transparency of disciplinary action taken against officers and allowing the state attorney general to serve as an independent prosecutor for cases that involve deaths of unarmed civilians by law enforcement.
READ MORE: Amy Cooper, who called cops on Black birdwatcher, gets dog back
“The bottom line is: we should be using better judgment. Racism gets created, and I think that by making false reporting because of gender or region is completely unacceptable and intolerable,” Cuomo said.
Amy Cooper was videotaped by Christian Cooper, a Black New York birdwatcher, when she refused to use a leash as required while walking her dog in Central Park.
Franklin Templeton, a global investment firm, fired Amy Cooper after the racist incident spread quickly across social media and in the news media.
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