Yeah, again, we're in complete agreement here, I think the sticking point is that we're (or at least I'm) not talking about "people's" behaviour, we're talking about Amy Cooper's. And for that we have access to a video showing exactly how she behaved.

There's no end to the "people do strange things when they're scared" argument. Maybe Christian said what he said because he's deathly afraid of dogs and only feels safe when they're on a leash. Maybe Amy Cooper has a tic that makes her say "African-American" uncontrollably when she's scared. Maybe she loses all fine motor control when she's asked to follow rules and that's why she couldn't just put a leash on her dog.

I can't prove any of these aren't true, but on balance, looking at what actually happened between these two people, none of these explanations seems plausible. I find myself in the same position when people argue, after having watched the tape, that Amy Cooper was in fear for her life.

Yes, under certain circumstances, Christian's words *could* be read as a serious threat. The question is whether they *were* perceived that way in this particular case. All evidence points to no and as far as I can see, none points to yes. The police agree. I'm just struggling to understand what you're seeing that they (and I) are missing.