A white woman who called the police after a black man asked her to put her dog on a leash in Central Park, New York, has been fired following her apology for the incident.
Amy Cooper, the woman involved in the brouhaha, apologized on Tuesday after she brought her dog to the wooded area of Central Park called the Ramble, an avid spot for bird watchers, on Monday and took her dog off the leash in violation of posted park rules, leading to Christian Cooper, who has no relation to her, confronting her.
During the confrontation, Mr. Cooper started filming the interaction, which resulted in Ms. Cooper calling the police and reporting that she and her dog were being threatened by “an African American man.” Mr. Cooper’s video of the back-and-forth went viral and has been viewed more than 16 million times. Ms. Cooper was later placed on administrative leave and then fired by her employer, investment management company Franklin Templeton.
“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’s statement on her firing read.
Ms. Cooper has since apologized for the incident, explaining that she “was just scared” while admitting that her actions were “not excusable” and “not defensible,” according to CNN.
“I’m not a racist. I did not mean to harm that man in any way,” she told the outlet.
“I sincerely and humbly apologize to everyone, especially to that man, his family,” she further said in a phone interview with NBC. “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.”
Mr. Cooper, who posted the footage and his side of the story to Facebook, explained that he argued with Ms. Cooper because dogs running free in that area of the woods hampered bird watchers’ chances of seeing birds.
“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,” he said. “People spend a lot of money and time planting in those areas as well. Nothing grows in a dog run for a reason.”
Prior to filming the interaction, Mr. Cooper told Ms. Cooper, “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.”
He then pulled out a bag of treats and offered her dog one. He insisted that he keeps them on him for situations such as this because, in his experience, pet owners are not fond of strangers giving their pets food. Ms. Cooper, however, argued that he was throwing the treats at her dog, which he has denied.
Ms. Cooper has since given up the dog, and it has been returned to the shelter from which she bought it, according to a Facebook post from Abandoned Angels Cocker Spaniel Rescue Inc.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio condemned her role in the debacle, saying it was an example of “racism, plain and simple.” The NYPD said it will not pursue charges against Cooper for her phone call to the police.
“Actually, I’ve seen the video. It’s an unfortunate incident and, frankly, you know, it’s hard to understand why she did what she did, perhaps, but the fact that she invoked race is disturbing. But also this, you know, she’s got a dog. The signs say the dogs must be leashed. She wasn’t in compliance. So, in effect, she was the problem, not the gentleman who asked her to put her dog on the leash,” First Deputy Commissioner Benjamin Tucker said on Tuesday.
“So, I mean, it was a simple thing,” he continued. “Both parties were gone after all officers arrived. But it’s unlikely that we would have made an arrest in that circumstance. I mean, these sorts of disputes pop up often. Right now, officers confront issues like this on a regular basis. Sometimes, they escalate, and they get ugly, and sometimes people realize that they’ve made a mistake, and then they get it resolved in the end.”
“We are not going to pursue that. We’ve got bigger fish to fry. I don’t think we would, and the DA would never prosecute that. You know, it’s not even clear that it would be actionable in terms of any violation,” he added.
