Oh, when Karens take a walk with their dogs off leash in the famous Bramble in NY’s Central Park, where it is clearly posted on signs that dogs MUST be leashed at all times, and someone like my brother (an avid birder) politely asks her to put her dog on the leash. pic.twitter.com/3YnzuATsDm
— Melody Cooper (@melodyMcooper) May 25, 2020
A woman has apologized after a video showing her calling police to say a black man was threatening her in New York’s Central Park when he asked her to put her dog on a leash went viral.
Christian Cooper said that he was bird watching in the park around 8 a.m. on Monday when he asked Amy Cooper to put her dog on a leash. The two were in The Ramble, a spot popular with birders and where dogs are required to be leashed.
“At some point, she decided, ‘I’m gonna play the race card,’ I guess,” he narrated.
The video starts with Christian Cooper asking Amy Cooper not to come any closer. She responds by asking him to stop recording her and, moments later, says she is calling the police.
“Please call the cops,” he says.
“I’m going to tell them there’s an African American man threatening my life,” she says.
“Please tell them whatever you like,” he replies.
On the phone, Amy Cooper says, “There is an African American man in Central Park. He is recording me and threatened myself and my dog.
“I’m being threatened by a man,” she continues. “Please send a cop! Immediately!”
Christian Cooper said he recorded the incident because he did not want to be intimidated, and that he stopped recording when Amy Cooper finally put her dog on a leash. The video went viral on Twitter after Christian’s sister posted it.
The video out of Central Park is racism, plain and simple.
She called the police BECAUSE he was a Black man. Even though she was the one breaking the rules. She decided he was the criminal and we know why.
This kind of hatred has no place in our city. https://t.co/6PP7jIwL1g
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) May 26, 2020
Christian Cooper left before police arrived, and no complaint or arrests were made.
Later, Amy Cooper admitted that she overreacted and regrets calling the police.
She said, “I sincerely and humbly apologize to everyone, especially to that man, his family,” she said in a phone call. “It was unacceptable and I humbly and fully apologize to everyone who’s seen that video, everyone that’s been offended…everyone who thinks of me in a lower light and I understand why they do.
“When I think about the police, I’m such a blessed person. I’ve come to realize especially today that I think of [the police] as a protection agency, and unfortunately, this has caused me to realize that there are so many people in this country that don’t have that luxury.”
Her employer, investment management company Franklin Templeton, posted in a Tweet on Monday night that she has been put on administrative leave.
In response to an incident involving an employee on May 25th, Franklin Templeton issued the following statement. pic.twitter.com/8f2lMwK0r5
— Franklin Templeton (@FTI_US) May 26, 2020
