NY Bill Would Make Some False Reports A Hate Crime

CBS News reports:

Proposed state legislation in New York would make falsely reporting certain criminal incidents a hate crime. The bill is gaining support in the wake of a viral video that showed a white woman calling police on a black man who asked her to leash her dog in Central Park.

In the video, the woman, Amy Cooper, is seen telling dispatchers that an African-American man is threatening her life. The video, however, shows no threat. Cooper later apologized after widespread outrage.

Legislation first proposed in 2018 by New York Assemblyman Felix Ortiz and introduced in the state senate this week by New York Sen. Brian Benjamin would make it a hate crime to falsely report certain criminal incidents against protected groups of people.