More on Central Park Karen…
After calling cops on black bird-watcher, Amy Cooper says ‘my entire life is being destroyed’
Her employer, Franklin Templeton, announces she has lost her job
By CNN.com Wire Service
UPDATED: May 26, 2020 at 6:39 p.m.
(CNN) — A New York woman has apologized for calling police on a black man bird-watching in Central Park on Monday morning after the two argued about her unleashed dog.
Amy Cooper told CNN she wanted to “publicly apologize to everyone.”
“I’m not a racist. I did not mean to harm that man in any way,” she said.
Tuesday afternoon, her employer announced she had been dismissed because of the incident.
Cooper, who is white, was walking her dog Monday morning while Christian Cooper was bird-watching in a wooded area of Central Park called the Ramble. They both told CNN the dispute began because her dog was not on a leash, which is contrary to the Ramble’s rules.
Christian Cooper recorded video of part of their encounter and posted it on Facebook, where it has since been shared thousands of times and became a trending topic on Twitter.
“I’m taking a picture and calling the cops,” Amy Cooper is heard saying in the video. “I’m going to tell them there’s an African American man threatening my life.”
The New York Police Department told CNN that she did make a call, but that when officers responded neither Christian Cooper nor Amy Cooper was present.
“I think I was just scared,” Amy Cooper said. “When you’re alone in the Ramble, you don’t know what’s happening. It’s not excusable, it’s not defensible.”
The incident is being pointed to as another example of white people calling the police on African Americans for mundane things.
“I videotaped it because I thought it was important to document things,” Christian Cooper said. “Unfortunately we live in an era with things like Ahmaud Arbery, where black men are seen as targets. This woman thought she could exploit that to her advantage, and I wasn’t having it.”
Asked if he’d accept her apology, Christian Cooper told CNN he would “if it’s genuine and if she plans on keeping her dog on a leash in the Ramble going forward.”
What led up to the video
Christian Cooper, who described himself as an avid bird-watcher, was birding between 7:30 a.m. and 8 a.m. Monday in the Ramble, a section of Central Park full of winding paths and thick greenery. The park’s rules forbid unleashed dogs in the Ramble.
“That’s important to us birders because we know that dogs won’t be off leash at all and we can go there to see the ground-dwelling birds,” Christian Cooper said.
Amy Cooper told CNN that she knew her dog was supposed to be on a leash. She said the dog was “running in an open field.”
“This man, he was bird-watching. He came out of the bush,” she said, and added that Cooper started “screaming” at her.
Christian Cooper said the dog was “tearing through the plantings,” and he told Amy Cooper the dog needed to be on a leash. He said he was not screaming at Amy Cooper, and “was actually pretty calm.”
The two went back and forth about the leash rules. Christian Cooper, according to his Facebook post, then told her: “Look, if you’re going to do what you want, I’m going to do what I want, but you’re not going to like it.”
“I didn’t know what that meant. When you’re alone in a wooded area, that’s absolutely terrifying, right?” Amy Cooper said.
Christian Cooper said he then pulled out dog treats. He told CNN he keeps treats with him for unleashed dogs because, in his experience, the owners hate when a stranger feeds their dog treats and immediately restrain the pets.
Amy Cooper said he was throwing them at her dog. Christian Cooper said he never threw any treats.
That’s when he started recording the incident, he said on Facebook.
Amy Cooper told CNN that since the video was posted, her “entire life is being destroyed right now.”
She was initially placed on administrative leave by her employer, investment company Franklin Templeton, which is based in San Mateo, California. On Tuesday afternoon, the company said she had been fired.
“Following our internal review of the incident in Central Park yesterday, we have made the decision to terminate the employee involved, effective immediately. We do not tolerate racism of any kind at Franklin Templeton,” it tweeted.
The dog has been surrendered to the shelter he was adopted from years earlier while the dispute is addressed, according to a Facebook post from Abandoned Angels Cocker Spaniel Rescue Inc.
“The dog is now in our rescue’s care and he is safe and in good health,” the post said.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/26/amy-cooper-my-entire-life-is-being-destroyed-after-calling-cops-on-black-bird-watcher/