Twitter | Melody Cooper
When a black man asked a white woman to leash her dog in Central Park, she instead decided to call NYPD to report the man for threatening her. The man recorded the interaction, which has now gone viral.
In an interview with NBC New York, Christian Cooper explained that he’d asked Amy Cooper (no relation) to leash her dog. They were in The Ramble, where it’s required to keep your dog on a leash at all times.
“If the habitat is destroyed we won’t be able to go there to see the birds, to enjoy the plantings,” explained Christian. He offered Amy’s dog a treat after she refused, and then started to record the event that followed.
Christian’s sister, Melody, posted the video on Twitter.
In it, you see Amy asking Christian to stop recording her. She says that if he doesn’t stop, she will call the cops and tell them “there’s an African American man threatening my life.” Amy repeats this statement several times.
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In the video, you can hear Christian respond, “Please tell them whatever you like.”
Amy proceeds to call 911. During the phone call, she says:
“I’m sorry. I’m in the Ramble and there’s a man. An African-American. He has a bike helmet. He’s recording me and threatening me and my dog,” she says with a trembling voice.
“I am in Central Park. He is recording me and threatening myself and my dog. I’m sorry, I can’t hear you either. I’m being threatened by a man in the Ramble. Please send the cops immediately!”
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
As Amy speaks with 911, she pauses to place a leash on her dog. Christian then says, “Thank you.”
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Christian explained to NBC New York that he recorded the woman as she called the police because he wasn’t going to be intimidated.
“We live in an age of Ahmaud Arbery where black men are gunned down because of assumptions people make about black men, black people, and I’m not going to participate in that,” said Christian.
By the time officers later arrived, Christian had already left. The cops determined that the incident was a “verbal dispute.”
The video of the incident accumulated over 23 million views on Twitter.
Amy Cooper also spoke to NBC New York. She “overreacted,” she said, and worried about the dog treat that Christian offered. Apparently, she saw it less as a peaceful gesture and more as a reason to call veterinary telehealth home care.
“I sincerely and humbly apologize to everyone, especially to that man, his family,” said Amy during the 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.”
She continues, “When I think about the police, I’m such a blessed person,” she continued. “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.”
As a result, Amy has now been placed on administrative leave by her employer, Franklin Templeton, an investment management company. They say they’re investigating the situation and are taking matters very seriously.
Critics are accusing Amy of animal cruelty after seeing the video. She has since “voluntarily surrendered” the dog back to Abandoned Angels Cocker Spaniel Rescue, where she adopted the dog a few years ago.
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