The dog walker phoned police on a man after he told her off for running her dog off leash in an on leash area of Central Park.
The dog walker phoned police on a man after he told her off for running her dog off leash in an on leash area of Central Park.
The white New York dog-walker accused of launching a racist tirade against a black man has been fired, her former employer says.
"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 investment firm tweeted of worker Amy Cooper.
The verbal dispute between Amy Cooper and Christian Cooper, a black man bird-watching in Central Park, might normally have gone unnoticed in a city preoccupied by the coronavirus pandemic.
That changed when Christian Cooper pulled out his phone and captured Amy Cooper calling police to report she was being threatened by "an African-American man."
The widely watched video — posted on Facebook by Christian Cooper and on Twitter by his sister — has sparked accusations of racism.
The confrontation began early Monday morning when Christian Cooper said he noticed Amy Cooper had let her cocker spaniel off its leash against the rules in the Ramble, a secluded section of Central Park popular with birdwatchers.
In a Facebook post, he claimed the dog was "tearing through the plantings" and told her she should go to another part of the park. When she refused, he pulled out dog treats, causing her to scream at him to not come near her dog.
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
Amy Cooper also warned him she would summon police unless he stopped recording.
"I'm going to tell them there's an African American man threatening my life," Amy Cooper is heard saying in the video as she pulls down her face mask and struggles to control her dog.
"Please call the cops," Christian Cooper says.
"There's an African American man, I'm in Central Park, he is recording me and threatening myself and my dog. Please send the cops immediately!" she says during the call before he stops recording.
Amy Cooper surrendered her dog to a rescue following the incident.
Police say by the time they responded, they were both gone.
Messages were left Tuesday with Christian Cooper and his sister.
"I videotaped it because I thought it was important to document things," Christian Cooper told CNN. "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."
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said the video exemplified hatred that has "no place in our city".
"The video out of Central Park is racism, plain and simple," de Blasio tweeted. "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."
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.
