OFF THE LEASH — FOR NOW
To charge or not to charge ‘Central Park Karen’: cops
“Vampire Diaries” alum Zach Roerig was charged with DUI over Memorial Day weekend and, according to cops, urinated in his holding cell, authorities told TMZ Friday.
Roerig, 35 (inset), was arrested on a misdemeanor DUI around 2:30 a.m. Sunday after cops in Montepelier, Ohio, pulled him over because his pickup truck was missing a front license plate, cops told the outlet.
The officer who approached his vehicle noted the “Dare Me” actor’s bloodshot eyes, slurred words, and the stench of alcohol.
“This is very hard, I can’t do this when I’m f—king...” Roerig said during multiple field sobriety tests. Asked to clarify, the actor reportedly said, “When I can’t have a beer.”
Roerig was released on his own recognizance and his arraignment is slated for June 4.
NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan said Friday police haven’t yet decided whether to charge the woman being called “Central Park Karen” who is accused of making a racially charged 911 call in Central Park.
“We are investigating what, if any, charges can be brought against her,” Monahan said in a WPIX-TV interview. “Obviously, we don’t want to make an arrest if the Manhattan District Attorney’s office isn’t sure if they can prosecute that.” He added, “We are speaking to everyone involved, looking through all the videos to see if it sustains a charge.”
Amy Cooper, who is white, called police on birdwatcher Christian Cooper, who is black, on Monday after he asked her to leash her dog. She claimed to the 911 operator she was being threatened by an “African American man.” The two are not related.
Christian Cooper filmed the encounter and the video went viral, with many elected officials and community leaders calling for the woman’s arrest.
“If it’s a false call and we can prove it, there’s going to be an arrest,” Monahan said. “There’s no place for that in this city. There’s the uproar because of this. What she’s caused because of that call we condemn that action and if we can make that arrest we will.”
When cops arrived at the section of the park known as the Ramble, neither Amy nor Christian Cooper were there, so no report was taken.
Monahan wouldn’t say if he believes Amy Cooper made a false report when she called 911, or if the law should be changed so people can be charged with making false 911 calls.
“We have to work through the law,” he said. “And the law ... is what her intent was when she made that call.”
The city’s Commission on Human Rights is investigating the call. If Amy Cooper is found guilty by the agency, she could face a fine or be forced to undergo sensitivity training.
Christian Cooper, a former editor at Marvel Comics, said he asked Amy to leash her dog, then offered her pooch a treat when she refused, hoping it would cause her to reconsider. Instead, Amy Cooper grabbed her dog and demanded that the man stop filming her or she’d call the cops.
“I’m going to tell them there’s an African-American man threatening my life,”
Amy says in the video.
“I’m in the Ramble, and there’s a man, African American,” she tells the 911 operator, her voice rising with hysteria as her dog, Henry, thrashes around to free himself from her hold.
“I’m being threatened,” she starts to yell. “Please send the cops immediately!”
She subsequently was fired from her job as a portfolio manager at financial firm Franklin Templeton Cooper. She also voluntarily surrendered her dog Monday.
She “sincerely and humbly” apologized for her actions in a statement to NBC News and complained to CNN that her “entire life is being destroyed right now.”
In 2015, Amy Cooper made headlines when she sued a man she claimed was her married ex-lover who lied about his intentions and stole $65,000.