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
Source:
https://scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3086194/anger-white-woman-calls-police-black-man-who-told United States & Canada
White woman Amy Cooper fired after calling police on black man who told her to leash dog in New York’s Central Park
- In viral video, investment firm employee tells phone operator ‘there’s an African-American man threatening my life’
- New York mayor condemns her actions as ‘racism, plain and simple’
A screen grab from a viral video of the confrontation between Christian Cooper and Amy Cooper in New York's Central Park. Photo: Christian Cooper via Twitter
A video of a white woman calling the police about a black birdwatcher in New York’s Central Park has gone viral, sparking anger about African-Americans being falsely reported to cops.
The clip, posted on Twitter and viewed more than 28 million times, was filmed by the man, Christian Cooper, who said he had asked the woman to leash her dog.
She was walking the pooch on Monday in a wooded area of the park popular with birdwatchers, where dogs are meant to be kept on leads.
As the woman struggles to control the dog, she approaches Cooper and is then seen making a phone call.
“I’m going to tell them there’s an African-American man threatening my life,” she tells Cooper while appearing to dial emergency services.
She then tells the operator: “There is an African-American man, I’m in Central Park. He’s recording me and threatening me and threatening my dog.”
Like many police authorities in the US, the New York Police Department is frequently accused of racism, especially against black and Latino people. Police departments across the US have been accused of brutal attacks and unlawful killings perpetrated against people of colour.
The exchange prompted outrage on social media with users calling the woman a “Karen”, a term popular online to describe entitled white women.
New York City mayor Bill de Blasio condemned her actions as “racism, plain and simple”.
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
“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,” he tweeted.
The woman was identified as Amy Cooper, no relation to the man she argued with. She is an insurance worker at investment management company Franklin Templeton.
She apologised during an interview with NBC but denied that she was racist, saying she had overreacted after feeling threatened.
“I sincerely and humbly apologise to everyone, especially to that man, his family,” she said.
On Facebook, Christian Cooper said he had offered the dog a treat after the woman refused his request to leash the dog.
A Facebook post by Christian Cooper tells his side of the story. Photo: Facebook
“That’s when I started video recording with my iPhone, and when her inner Karen fully emerged and took a dark turn,” he wrote.
On Tuesday Franklin Templeton announced in a statement that it had suspended Amy Cooper, and hours later tweeted that 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,” the company said.