Home » News » Racism Incident in Central Park: Prosecutor drops allegations

Racism Incident in Central Park: Prosecutor drops allegations

Status: 02/16/2021 9:08 pm



A strolling woman threatened an African-American with the police in Central Park, New York. He had previously asked her to leash her dog. A case against the woman for racism is now off the table.

From Peter Mücke,
ARD-Studio New York


The case had caused a stir not only in the USA: In May, an Afro-American hobby bird watcher in New York’s Central Park asked a white woman to leash her dog. This is required by the park regulations. The dog owner then called the police twice. A black man threatened her life, she claimed.




Video sparked debate

The bird watcher had filmed the incident. The video, which his sister later put online, received millions of clicks within a very short time and sparked a racism debate in the USA.

The woman later apologized, but the case had legal consequences: the public prosecutor’s office investigated, but has now closed the proceedings after the woman had completed training on how to avoid racism in everyday life.

41-year-old lost job

The responsible public prosecutor dropped the allegations because the therapist reported after five sessions that it had been a moving experience for her client and that she had learned a lot. The 41-year-old lost her job at an insurance company anyway. The hobby bird watcher published a comic about the incident in Central Park.

Racism incident in New York Central Park

Peter Mücke, ARD New York, February 16, 2021 8:39 pm

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