The dismissal of the charge against Ms. Cooper — who is not related to Mr. Cooper — provoked frustration online, where some critics of the district attorney’s office questioned why Ms. Cooper had received what they believed was lenient treatment and suggested it was because she is white. Eliza Orlins, a candidate for Manhattan district attorney, said in a tweet that the dismissal “isn’t surprising.”“This is how the system was designed to function — to protect the privileged from accountability,” she said. A report released by the Manhattan district attorney’s office in December said that between February and June last year, 328 people were referred to the organization that handled Ms. Cooper’s case, Manhattan Justice Opportunities, which provides alternatives to incarceration. For his part, Mr. Cooper has been reluctant to speak about Ms. Cooper, for whom he has shown compassion. “That gross racial injustice could be fixed by Congress now, today, and that is what people should be focused on, not last year’s events in Central Park.”

Source: New York Times February 16, 2021 15:15 UTC