A man who is known for his encounter with a woman who called police on him at New York’s Central Park will now have his own television show.

Christian Cooper is a birdwatcher. That’s exactly what he was doing when he asked a woman, Amy Cooper, to leash her dog.

The two are not related.

The woman then called the police and said a Black man was threatening her after ask her to leash her dog.

Fast forward two years later, the avid birdwatcher will now host National Geographic’s Extraordinary Birder.

NatGeo says Christian Cooper will brave stormy seas in Alaska to look for puffins, trek into Puerto Rico to search for parrots and even scale a bridge in Manhattan to scout a falcon.

The New York birdwatcher will host six episodes.

A release date for the show has not yet been set.

LONGMONT, Co. — On her 44 acre property tucked in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, Carol Walker feeds her horses an afternoon treat.

Though Micah and Hermoso are living a sweet life, it still pains carol that they’re kept inside a fence.

"I love them both dearly, but I wish that they had stayed wild and free," she said.

A 1971 law protects wild horse numbers. However, the two adopted mustang brothers are in her care because they were captured in separate roundups by the Bureau of Land Management, the government agency tasked with keeping track of their numbers.

If there are too many, the bureau, or the BLM as it's referred to, herds them into corrals via helicopter, puts them into a long-term holding facility, examines them, and then the horses are offered for adoption.

"What the BLM is doing right now is completely against the spirit and the letter of this act, but nobody is stopping them," said Walker.

What Walker, who also photographs wild horses, is referring to is a string of recent roundups, including one ongoing right now in the southwestern corner of Wyoming. It’s a huge undertaking encompassing five different areas, and it's estimated to last weeks.

Brad Purdy, the spokesperson for the BLM, says this roundup is necessary because there are too many wild horses there for the land to sustain. However, there are voices saying that’s not necessarily the case.

Erik Molvar is an environmental biologist and director of the Western Watersheds Project, an organization that aims to improve public land management. He says the pressure that grazing done by domestic cattle and sheep is outpacing any damage to the land done by wild horses. He argues the number of wild horses the Wyoming land can sustain is actually more than the BLM’s numbers show.

"Right now, the wild horses are about four times that appropriate management and yet still the land is meeting the thriving natural ecological balance, which calls into question whether that appropriate management level has anything to do with a thriving, natural ecological balance at all, or whether what it really set at is to keep the wild horse populations low so they can have more domestic livestock out there," said Molvar.

State governments have stepped up with concern about roundups. At the end of August, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis wrote to the US Department of the interior that he is “extremely concerned” with the rate of the roundups and called for a six-month moratorium on them for the American public to weigh in.

Another issue Walker has is what happens to the horses after they're rounded up. Right now, 50,000 horses are in long-term holding, waiting to be adopted. There's an incentive program that gives up to $1,000 to anyone who adopts an untrained wild horse.

Walker is currently a plaintiff in a lawsuit against this practice, saying folks are taking the money and then selling the horses to auction where they could be killed.

"What I would ultimately like to have happen is an investigation into the BLM and to have them removed as the managers of these wild horses," she said.

Purdy said that while the area where the Wyoming round up is occurring is near private grazing land, the decision to remove horses is based solely on there being too many, saying quote, “BLM would be gathering horses regardless of the land patterns or ownership of the private lands as required by the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act of 1971.”

Walker hopes more attention is brought to this issue, the more people stand up for America's mustangs

"If people aren't standing up strongly for them, aren't fighting for them, these horses are just going to disappear," she said, "and I don't want to have a library of photos of animals that have disappeared."

A statue honoring George Floyd in New York City’s Union Square Park was vandalized on Sunday, police said.

According to police, a video showed an unidentified man on a skateboard throwing paint on the statue at approximately 10 a.m. then fleeing. Nearby statues of late Congressman John Lewis and Breonna Taylor, a Louisville, Kentucky, woman shot and killed by police last year, apparently weren’t touched.

Police have not released the video.

Sunday's act wasn't the first example of vandalism to the statue memorializing Floyd, whose killing at the hands of police in Minneapolis last year galvanized a racial justice movement across the country.

The statue was unveiled on the Juneteenth holiday in a spot on Flatbush Avenue, in Brooklyn, and it was vandalized five days later with black paint and marked with an alleged logo of a white supremacist group.

Members of the group that installed the statue cleaned it, and local residents and one of Floyd’s brothers gathered in July as it was prepared to move to Union Square, in the heart of Manhattan.

KENOSHA — A Kenosha police officer will not be charged in the August shooting of Jacob Blake, the Kenosha County District Attorney announced Tuesday.

The District Attorney made the announcement at a press conference Tuesday afternoon. D.A. Michael Graveley said his office would not recommend charges against Kenosha Police Officer Rusten Sheskey.

Sheskey shot Blake multiple times in the back on Aug. 23. Officers had responded to the scene near 40th and 28th Street on a "domestic incident" call.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice, which is the investigating agency, said Sheskey and several other Kenosha officers were attempting to arrest Blake at the time. Blake walked away from officers and was attempting to get into an SUV at the scene when he was shot.

According to officials, Blake admitted there was a weapon in the vehicle, but it was unclear if he was reaching for it or not during the incident. Prior to the shooting, Blake was tased twice by Sheskey and another officer.

An investigation launched by the DOJ's Division of Criminal Investigation following the shooting has since found that Blake admitted to having a knife in his possession during the incident. DCI agents later found a knife in the driver’s side floorboard of Blake's vehicle. No other weapons were found.

Sheskey, Officer Vincent Arenas, and Officer Brittany Meronek were placed on administrative leave pending the investigation.

Gov. Tony Evers on Monday mobilized 500 members of the Wisconsin National Guard to Kenosha.

In a statement, the governor said that local authorities requested the deployment. The city's Common Council also authorized an emergency declaration, which allows Mayor John Antaramian emergency authority, set to kick in once a charging decision is made.

The Aug. 23 shooting sparked nationwide protests, some turning violent.

Graveley said none of the officers involved in the shooting will face charges. He also added that Blake wouldn't be charged.

“We are immensely disappointed in Kenosha District Attorney Michael Graveley’s decision not to charge the officers involved in this horrific shooting," said Blake's attorneys in a statement. "We feel this decision failed not only Jacob and his family, but the community that protested and demanded justice."

Attorneys Ben Crump, Patrick A. Salvi and B'Ivory LaMarr said Graveley's decision "further destroys trust in our justice system."

“Officer Sheskey’s actions sparked outrage and advocacy throughout the country, but the District Attorney’s decision not to charge the officer who shot Jacob in the back multiple times, leaving him paralyzed, further destroys trust in our justice system," said the attorneys. "This sends the wrong message to police officers throughout the country. It says it is OK for police to abuse their power and recklessly shoot their weapon, destroying the life of someone who was trying to protect his children."

This story originally reported on TMJ4.com.

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Anger and grief are some of the many emotions Americans are processing after witnessing the attack on our Capitol. Fixated on live news footage unfolding on television, people around the world saw images that will live on for generations.

“It was definitely an emotional feeling. To the point where I guess, like most people, I was glued to my television," said Diane Jones Lowrey, senior director of community partnerships at Common Sense Media.

The nonprofit helps parents and educators navigate the digital world with kids. Like adults, they're also trying to make sense of what happened in D.C.

“The pandemic, the racial strike we’ve had throughout the year; there’s been so many times that we’ve had to help parents have these difficult conversations. But we think this one is a little different," aid Jones Lowrey. "Because it truly is touching on the foundation of our democracy.”

Jones Lowrey wrote a blog post with tools to help parents and educators navigate conversations with children about this moment in history.

“It’s challenging for me as an adult, as a mom, to have this conversation.”

But there are strategies to help start the conversation with children of all ages.

“It really is about where they are in their development," she said.

For the youngest kids, Jones Lowrey recommends limiting or eliminating exposure to the media, as they aren't yet fully able to understand complex situations. She says kids in this age group oftentimes can't tell the difference between fantasy and reality.

But she recognizes limiting media exposure is not always possible and young children may hear about the news from siblings or friends.

“What you really want to do with the youngest kids is give them a sense of confidence and assurance that it's not really going to impact them, and that they’re safe, and that their family is safe," said Jones Lowrey.

She says children 8 to 12 understand what’s going on but may not comprehend specific details.

“Ask them, what are you feeling, what did you see, and what did you hear? And hear it through their eyes, hear it through their voice.”

It can also be helpful to ask how their friends are feeling, as they're likely talking to each other about the news.

Jones Lowrey says teenagers are usually very aware of what's going on and are likely getting most of their information online and from social media.

“The older you get, the more critical you need to be about the media you consume."

She recommends giving them a space to express how they feel without judgment and ask questions to help them think critically. These are some suggestions given in her blog post:

• What are you seeing on social media or the news about the events in the Capitol?
• How do you feel about what you see?
• Whose perspective is being featured?
• Whose voices are missing?

She also says to always look for teachable moments, from our democratic process to the suspension of President Trump’s social media accounts.

“Because there are consequences for the words that you say.”

She says families should also pay attention to how much news they're consuming, and that there's value in pulling away from our televisions and phones.

Another free resource for educators, an online course created by the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence: Managing Emotions in Times of Uncertainty & Stress. The 10-hour online course is designed for school staff, including teachers, paraprofessionals, counselors, principals, and non-teaching staff in preK-12 schools.

While the violence may be dominating our screens, Jones Lowrey says it’s important to show children the whole picture.

“The perseverance of our lawmakers to come back and finish the job they started," recalled Jones Lowrey. “That, I think, shows hope to our kids. And that’s, I think, a story I think we can tell to them.”

Common Sense has more resources online to help parents talk with kids on this issue, as well as others like the pandemic and race relations in America.

CHULA VISTA, Calif. — Cities across the country are answering calls for police reform, banning controversial tactics, and slashing police budgets.

A Southern California police department is taking a different approach, using drones to earn the public's trust.

“Most agencies that have drone programs, they have the traditional drone in the trunk, where the officer responds to a call for service. They see a drone may be needed, they launch it," said Captain Don Redmond, a support operations captain for the Chula Vista Police Department (CVPD) "We wanted to be proactive in how we responded with our drones."

Redmond says they're using drones as a tool for de-escalation, arming officers with information. Drones are only launched in response to calls for service; surveillance is prohibited.

“We have heard the national message that law enforcement needs to do things differently," said Capt. Redmond.

The department spent years developing its Drone as First Responder (DFR) program. They formed a committee in 2015, studying best practices, policies, and procedures for the use of drones in law enforcement.

“We had a drone program for about a year before we ever bought a drone. We reached out to the public, we reached out to the ACLU, we developed policies," said Capt. Redmond.

CVPD was the only law enforcement agency selected for the FAA's Integration Pilot Project, a federal initiative designed to help integrate drones into the National Air Space.

“We are the only agency in the entire country to be staging drones and launching them for calls for service, for emergencies," said Capt. Redmond.

Perched on tall buildings, the drones are prepped and ready to respond to calls. Like a self-driving car, the drone can get to a scene with the push of a button.

The drone is often the first to arrive, live streaming video to officers in real-time.

Agent Matt Hardesty, a DFR teleoperator, decides which calls to send the drone to.

“I can hear something, the urgency, and can typically be on scene in 120 seconds, many times before the call is typed and entered into the dispatch center," said Agent Hardesty.

A 27-year veteran of the force, officers in the field rely on his experience to get the most accurate information in fast-moving situations.

“It is probably by far the best de-escalation tool I’ve ever seen in my career," said Hardesty. "We get calls of people possibly armed, and with the powerful camera I’m able to zoom in and be able to see if their hands are empty and be able to let officers on the ground know.”

In 2019, the drone responded to a report of a man waving a handgun outside a taco shop. Within 90 seconds, Agent Hardesty had eyes on the suspect.

Through the live stream, officers confirmed the suspect was holding what looked to be a gun but saw he was sitting down and not threatening anyone.

“As we watched him with the drone footage, and the officers watched, they soon saw him take that handgun and light a cigarette and we realized it was a lighter," said Capt. Redmond. "So, officers immediately made contact. No guns were drawn. No shooting.”

The department launches drones from two locations and is working with the FAA to establish three more. Redmond says this would give the department 100 percent coverage of the city.

The agency is also the first to live stream 911 calls directly to officers.

“As opposed to getting the paraphrase of what the caller told the call-taker, who then tells the dispatcher, who paraphrases it and gives the officers just a small amount of information," said Redmond.

Officers get information quickly and can make decisions based on what they see and hear minutes before arriving at a call.

Agencies in the U.S., and around the world, are now looking to adopt the drone program. But innovations designed to rebuild trust can also sow mistrust in communities.

More than just technology, agencies must invest in transparency, which Redmond says has been the key to their program's success.

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Streetlights are becoming as smart as our cell phones, monitoring everything from available parking to weather conditions. Cities and countries around the world are embracing these smart city technologies.

But capable of collecting massive amounts of data, some worry the technology could harm the people it’s supposed to help.

“We serve primarily the refugee community, but also the Muslim, South Asian, Black immigrant community here in San Diego. And our communities historically have been affected by over-surveillance, especially after September 11," said Homayra Yusufi, with the Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans (PANA).

Her organization became alarmed after learning about the City of San Diego's Smart Streetlights program.

“They were not only installed, thousands throughout San Diego, they had also given exclusive access to the police department, and the police department did not have a use policy for how they were utilizing this," said Yusufi.

The smart streetlights are equipped with LED bulbs, cameras, and sensors that are capable of monitoring air quality and optimizing traffic and parking. The city partnered with GE, approving the $30 million program in 2016. City officials estimated the program would eventually pay for itself through energy cost-savings.

But unbeknownst to the public, the program evolved into a crime-solving tool for law enforcement. And instead of cost-savings, the city ultimately admitted it was plagued with cost overruns.

“There’s a real fear of these kinds of things, of being targeted, of being constantly watched outside their homes and going to the grocery store," said Yusufi.

Over 30 community organizations formed the Transparent and Responsible Use of Surveillance Technology San Diego (TRUST SD) Coalition are calling for more oversight and transparency.

“Our coalition is not about saying no to technology. Our coalition is about making sure there’s a democratic process for guiding our technologies," said Lilly Irani, a professor of communication at UC San Diego. “The LED lights make us feel like we don’t need to be paying attention, but there’s actually a whole bunch of capabilities built into this infrastructure.”

The program is now on hold as the city develops new policies with input from organizations, privacy advocates, technology experts, and other stakeholders.

“The real focus is not on the hardware, the streetlight, or the autonomous vehicle. It's about the data that it creates," said Philip Bane, managing director of the Smart Cities Council.

A global organization, they work to help cities navigate and implement smart technologies.

“We guide cities through a process. We ask them to identify stakeholders. We ask them to identify needs," said Bane. "We ask them, do you have a problem with energy consumption? Do you have a problem with carbon emissions? Do you have a problem with crime at night? We go through a list of city needs, and that's really where you have to start."

Billions of dollars are being invested around the world in smart city technologies.

“Nashville is doing something where they're putting in sensors to measure water flow, and when it’s flowing, in all these places it could be dangerous," said Bane.

Prone to urban flooding, the city is installing thousands of sensors for early warning detection.

“And the title of their project, and this is really key, is Mitigating Urban Flooding from Vulnerable Populations. That's the piece I want to concentrate on because that's the future. The future is getting the data and being able to act on how does that flooding affects somebody who's disabled or who's an immigrant doesn't speak English," said Bane.

He says the smart technology movement dates back decades when the country digitized the electric grid.

“Today, a utility will tell you your electricity is out before you pick up the phone to tell them that is a result of the technology that essentially has what we call a sensor. That sensor is located somewhere on a network. That sensor collects data," said Bane. "It's not that you collect data. It's that you act on the data."

He says smart city technologies can help solve many of the problems cities face, like poverty, traffic, public safety, energy, and water quality.

But for a program to succeed, he says they must bring all stakeholders to the table. Among them are community members, nonprofits, universities, technology experts, privacy advocates, city departments, and utilities.

Cities must also identify how they're going to use the technology and set rules for how the data will be shared.

"You may not have everybody at the table, you may not know every use for the technology, but if you figure out the rules for sharing the data, you’ll solve the first and second problem," said Bane. "And that's really the future of smart cities, is how do we share data."