Amy Cooper Fired Over Central Park Police Call; Local Senator Introduces Hate Crime Legislation
Amy Cooper has lost her job after calling police on a black birdwatcher who had asked her to leash her dog on Sunday morning. Cooper was an executive at Franklin Templeton Investments, which put her on administrative leave on Sunday after the incident caused a firestorm on social media.
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.
— Franklin Templeton (@FTI_US) May 26, 2020
State Senator Brian Benjamin, who represents part of the Upper West Side and other areas, announced that he has introduced a bill that will make falsely reporting an incident a potential hate crime.
“I am deeply concerned by the video footage of a woman in Central Park calling 911 on a man for asking her to leash her dog in accordance with park policies. It is frightening that this incident happened just blocks from where many of my constituents live and that this woman was so willing to fabricate a story despite being filmed. I worry that if she had not been filmed this woman may have been given the benefit of the doubt, and that this man could have faced serious, perhaps life threatening consequences if the police had arrived.
I have introduced a bill in the N.Y. Senate today to add falsely reporting an incident to the list of hate crime eligible offenses. We need to send a message loud and clear that if you falsely put someone’s life at risk you will end up facing very serious consequences.
I will be in Albany this week presiding over the Senate, and I will be working closely with Assembly Sponsor Felix Ortiz to ensure this bill is a priority.”
This bill about falsely reporting a hate crime should have been around during the Tawana Brawley days.
Wow! Amazing that the first comment in a story about a very current event (this happened 2 days ago) is a defensive reference to a NYC story from over 30 yrs ago.
The fact that the most current example of “reverse racism” you can come up with is from the Tawana Brawley days speaks volumes.
As we all see in the news, this is almost a daily occurrence for black folks in this country. Not sure why you insist on defending this woman’s disgusting and dangerous behavior.
Hi UWS_lifer
What about Jussie Smollett? His shenanigans occurred less than two years ago.
And no, I never defended this woman’s behavior. She broke CP rules by having her dog run wild without a leash and she overreacted when this man told her to control her dog.
But do her actions constitute a hate crime that warrants special legislation? No.
Sherm
I somehow doubt she would have reacted the same if her opponent would be a white person so… yes, It’s a hate crime.
Your ability to link doubt with sureness is stunning.
I somehow doubt he would’ve approached her if she was a black woman.
Using the NYPD as her weapon of choice because she was angry a black man ask her to obey the law and him not following her commands?
Her lie/false report could have resulted in him being arrested, or worst case losing his life.
Yes, I think there should have a special legal distinction since she used his race and a false accusation of being physically at risk in order to weaponize the NYPD. Shades of Emmett Till.
– Middle-aged white guy
He felt his black privilege gave him the right to tell her what to do.
Where to begin, SOOOO much wrong here.
#1) For every Jussie Smollett (who most likely has mental issues and didn’t even target a specific victim) there are thousands of Amy Coopers.
#2) The REAL tragedy here is that she knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that if some entitled ‘Karen’ gets angry with a black man she absolutely can weaponize the police against him…and that she couldn’t care less about the consequences to him, after all he should know his place.
#3) All the angry white people adamantly denying racism and privilege are so clueless about it’s undeniable existence that they (she) can’t stop herself from declaring ON CAMERA that she’s going to call the police and say a black man is threatening her life (blatant lie) if he doesn’t obey her knowing that her inherent privilege WILL make him sorry (maybe even kill him) for giving her sass.
#4) Jerks like you defending it.
If that’s not a hate crime wtf is?!
As black woman I think this may be too much. The company had to fire her, though. Cooper violated multiple codes of conduct as a v.p.,beyond acting like a jerk, and lying to the cops, and trying to leverage overpolicing of p.o.c. hoping to harm this guy.
No, it should have been around immediately after the Civil War–if not before. Then, the nearly 5000 cases of documented lynchings might not have occurred throughout the 20th century, to the present, with impunity.
Hi S Hicks-Bartlett
Yes, and this law might have prevented the lynching of a young Chasidic student by a black mob in Crown Heights as well.
Sherm
Well sherm if you’re going to go back that many decades, let’s also recall that the rebbe’s motorcade accidentally killed a child, running a light, didn’t stop and the driver ran away to Israel to avoid charges.
“accident” = lynching by mob, stirred by MSNBC news host and 100+ time White House guest Al Sharpton?
So that justified a thug stabbing to death a young scholar who had absolutely nothing to do with incident in front of a mob screaming anti-Semitic curses at him.
I see what you’re all about…..
Nope, giving context doesn’t mean the student’s death was justified. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time, like Gavin Cato. But you see what you want to see, Sherman.
“wrong place at the wrong time”? He was murdered by a mob. Gavin Cato was not murdered, he was killed by accident. To hint at equating both is the worst kind of racial bias.
JUST LOOK AT ALL THE KKKFOX NEWS WATCHING RACIST , IMMORAL MAJORITY , THAT ARE ANGRY THEIR RACISM WILL HAVE CONSEQUENCES —WHAT A FRIKKIN JOKE ,,, AND THESE ARE THE SAME P..O.S ‘S THAT SAY WE ARE PLAYING THE RACE CARD –YOU NEED ONLY LOOK AT THOSE DEFENDING THIS RACIST TO SEE ,,,, WE ARE NOT PLAYING ,,, WE ARE GETTING ANIHILATED BY THE GANGBADGERS –THE NEW KKK , THE DESIRE OF RACIST AMERICA
CAPs always makes a point…. then just throw in random words
“Administrative leave” is not firing
I think she’s horrible but I don’t see why the public needs to know what happens to her workwise.
No. She’s fired. Done. See FTI twitter account.
They subsequently fired her.
Because Black men die when the police are called by white women since Emmett Till.What country do you live in, dummy? And you are obviously white making this statement in your fucking privilege. If he had been killed as a result of her false call would it be a problem to you then?
She’s lost her dog and her job. How much more blood will it take to satiate the mobs? I’m surprised people aren’t calling for her public execution. Might as well finish the job you started.
Her behavior was so strange (for want of a better word) that there must have been additional reasons to fire her. Given her employer’s quick response to the video I’m sure this was not the first time she had done something inappropriate.
I had the same thought. The company had likely been dealing with her inappropriate behaviors for some time and was delighted to have a reason to terminate her services.
How can you so emphatically state such an assumption knowing zero facts about this woman? Anyone with a bit of common sense and intelligence knows that companies steer away from conflict and play it safe. I hope you’re never in a position that decides people’s fate.
Boris I agree. And by the way he did threaten her. He took out stuff from his pocket, called the dog and said “ok I am going to do smth you don’t like”. In her shoes, I would suspect poison, hence her emotion. Who is he to police the park? He should call the people in charge. Then she acted crazy too. Apparently she is receiving death threats now, she lost a job with no court of law and a poor dog went back to a shelter. I hope this guy is happy with what he did for his moment of fame over a petty dispute in the park.
Making a false police report is a serious crime. And that dog was clearly in pain. Sucks for her that she has to suffer consequences, but she doesn’t deserve sympathy.
For those thinking that the outcome has been too harsh on Ms. Cooper, think about this…she could have ushered the police there, and one thing could have led to another, and Mr. Cooper could have been killed. This woman weaponized her skin privilege to create a false alarm. She invoked race. She knew the risk of a deadly outcome.
Well then the real problem is with the police if that is actually a possibility. People who are stressful sometimes report things as they perceive it but not necessarily are lying. You’re not very smart person are you?
She made it clear that she was counting on a complicity racist police force. there was no probative value in screaming to 911 operator that it was a ‘african american’ man – wouldn’t say white or asian. And, the kicker is setting the scene by lying he threatened her and escalating frantic voice so the responding police, who by your admission are racist, come in blazing. The sad thing is that you are not entirely stupid, though not as clever as you think. Now go run off wit your dog whistle.
Back from the dead Sam? No need to insult…..I think aggressive nasty-ness got Ms. Cooper in trouble.
Maybe the issue is people like Ms. Cooper, maybe there is some police racism too. There is a crazy amount of unjustified killing of people of color. When I start seeing more on the white sides being accidentally choked to death – we’ll call it even.
If people didn’t act like entitled poops- she would have said, I’m sorry, I’ll leash the dog….it would be over. It wasn’t.
She could have smiled and walked away. When you’re angry and react, you usually regret it.
No, she lied, and if she had not been caught the consequences for the man she accused could have been far worse than what she is being punished with. Why are you taking her side?
Obviously over the top (your response), but why should her life have more value than his? It absolutely doesn’t. And actually he seems crazy cool about the whole thing and not asking for her head. We can’t educate you on the state of this country and systemic racism, way too much to catch up on.
As a human – she tried to bully another human bc she didn’t want to do what he ask/pointed out. She then tried to screw with him and scare him…..
Theoretically their lives are of equal value. But I wouldn’t want her on my team, in my house or taking care of my dog. Not would I care to see her interacting with my children.
Regardless – PR for a large investment firm is important and this lady got her due. you also can’t drag rescue dogs around by its neck
And imagine having her interact with African-American clients after this. If she’s alone in a room with someone is she going to call the cops on them? She is a complete liability.
It’s called accountability ! This innocent man could have been falsely accused or even killed because of this women’s accusations. We have seen too many black men killed already because of racist claims. Anybody with even half a moral compass would feel outraged and demand justice !
She was a v.p. at a major financial institution, which has codes of conduct. She brought this on herself.
Aren’t you a tad confused?! SHE started her own trouble! SHE played the “race card”. SHE set a trap for him that snared her instead! The Bible — you know, that Book racists like you claim to uphold but fail to live by — says, ” Let he who would set a trap beware, lest he himself become ensnared”.
I agree. Also, the first part of the altercation was not recorded, so why is everyone so quick to slam the woman and defend the guy? For a start, he claimed he was trying to give her dog treats when she had not consented to him doing so. She said she was threatened – how does anyone know she wasn’t? Stating that someone is African-American is factual. It’s no different to providing a description of someone as bald or fat and I’m fairly sure a black person would report a white person as just that. It’s only racist if you want to make it racist.
jubs, just keep telling yourself that she emphasized “African American” for no reason at all and maybe the racism will go away in your head. Why would she emphasize that to HIM? She knew that was a threat and didn’t even flinch to use it.
She also described him as a man,does that make her a sexist?
He was quoted as saying, “you’re not gonna like what I’m about to do” as he pulled out a doggie treat and tried luring the dog!
That is when she felt threatened and grabbed her dogs collar to keep him from potential harm by mr. Cooper!
He started video just as she was grAbbing her pups collar!
VERY DECEIVING INDEED!
Ms. Cooper does need to be fired and to reflect on the fact that if things had gone differently, she would likely be arrested for causing a murder. God knows that police go crazy without cause, I can only imagine how crazy they would have gone if they believed her lies that her life was was risk. He would be dead today. And you all know it.
Talk about self termination
Horrendous! See what happened in MSP today! Central Park incident could have evolved in a similar vein. Shame on her. Arrest HER! For not leashing her dog!!!
What I don’t understand about this is why he kept on filming her once she put a leash on her dog and kept asking him to leave her alone? He had a right to tell her to leash the dog, and the video shows the dog leashed. it is only when he doesn’t stop filming her after repeated requests to leave her alone and stop filming that she calls the police. she was wrong and did something very dangerous by lying to the police about the man, but that doesn’t explain why this guy kept filming her once her dog was leashed.
Video recording in public is NOT against the law. She wrongly thought by invoking the implicit bias of law enforcement in general would control the situation and conflict.
Being racist is not against the law. Making a fraudulent police call is. The DA can go after her pretty hard if they want to.
If this is how she acts during conflicts with people, my guess she’s not a highly valued employee. It was her dog walker (?) Who outed her to the public, so that’s telling also.
The camera w audio is the wrong doer’s kryptonite. Very few people can get away with misdeeds on record. The whole country is suffering because we let things slide in 2016. Grab this, pull that… I was just being sarcastic. Who’s laughing now?
No, she couldn’t have been scared when he said straight to her face “you are not going to like it”. She couldn’t have been scared because when white women are scared they start crying and running away. She just wanted to ruin this man’s life and ended up ruining hers instead. But I bet she will win a very big award from her employer for firing her and possibly against our brilliant mayor who, as usual, opened his mouth before he knew all the facts, or knows the facts and helped ruin this persons reputation and chances of a fair hearing.
“because when white women are scared they start crying and running away.”
Really? This says much more about you than about white women…
He wasn’t breaking any law. Watch the video again, and you see she becomes aggressive, hes backing away and telling her to stay away. Now, as a Manhattan born and raised, she should have just ignored him and kept on walking. He wasn’t preventing or blocking her in any way. But, entitled twits gotta twit.
The dog wasn’t on the leash until the very end of the video. She’s holding onto the dog’s collar the whole time. As soon as she clips the leash, he says “thank you” and stops the video.
The dog wasn’t leashed until well after she called 911…the version I saw has mr cooper cutting the feed right when you hear the click of the lead.
@CB, perhaps you watched a version of the video no one else saw. The dog was leashed only after she called the police. She chose to drag the dog by his collar.
Mr. cooper stopped his recording once she leashes her dog.
Watch the video. She’s dragging the dog around while she does a really bad job acting – then gets into “there’s an African American man threatening me and my dog”.
Mr. cooper was birding. He asked her to follow the law. He offered the dog treats to force her to leash it – dog can run to him if it’s leashed.
Good I’m all for that bill
She should b ashamed of herself.
So now she lost her job.
Was she on company time? What in the world does this have to do with her job? Even a so-called “morals clause” would not apply in this case—she seems high-strung at best. She should hire an employment lawyer and sue them in contract and in tort. And they even took her dog away from her for good measure? There will be a backlash against this kind of public assassination—we have seen too much of this in the last few years.
What kind of boss do you think she was to her black and brown reports, especially any that had the temerity to question her? Do you think she made fair decisions about people who came to her group for financial advice and weren’t white? What we know for sure is she ignores rules and she lies. Not a good look for a finance company investing customers’ funds.
As an executive, she is probably an “at-will” employee who can be fired for any reason unless it is discriminatory according to the law.
Right, Ed—likely at-will. That is why I specified she should sue in both contract and in tort—I can think up a lot of likely bases to go after the employer for this wanton behavior.
Thank you, Brian Benjamin!
Thank you !!! This bill is so needed !
THANK YOU
For introducing a bill to make this a crime .
I too think it could have ended horribly for this innocent black man asking someone to abide by the law if it wasn’t on film.
Whether this was a set up or not-what was he so concerned about? The way she handled her dog during her outburst shows she has no business owning one. She was strangling it by holding it by the collar. You see the dog jumping up so it can breathe. I’m glad the dog was returned to the shelter. Hopefully they both learned a lesson. Don’t police others and don’t go into hysteria over a simple request. This is not necessarily racial but certainly a probability of the fear in New Yorkers due to the pandemic
I know I felt so sad for the doggy too. She didn’t even care what she was doing to him
They are not equal behaviors though. He was within bounds asking her to leash her dog. With certain exceptions dogs are supposed to be leashed, that’s been the law for decades. She became aggressive, watch the video. Choking the poor dog,who squeals with pain at one point, as she histrionically lies to 911. In no way does the guy’s asking her to leash her dog qualify as “policing” after all she could have just ignored him and kept walking, as most people do.
She had trouble ignoring him because he pulled dog treats from his pocket (that he carries to entice dogs to come to him) and called the dog over. He shouldn’t have done that and she became rather irate at that point. Please note the dog runs have all been locked so people are letting their dogs run in areas they would not normally do so. He could have minded his own business.
So.. just because the dog-runs are closed you think its fine to ignore the law ? Wich in this case prohibits dogs to be unleashed in that part of the park for wildlife-preservation ?
Might aswell go ‘oh that shop is closed but i need my food NOW ! lets break in and take some stuff because its more convinient then going to the open shop a few blocks away’
That’s big talking but kinda asinine. I’d like to witness your correcting other people’s behavior when they break other real important laws like jaywalking, littering, smoking in a park, blowing a car horn, etc. Would you feel so comfortable confronting a burly man over this as you would with a diminutive woman? Even though I am opposed to people letting their dogs off-leash, I don’t have a bug up my a$$ like this guy. He was intent on creating an incident and chose someone physically inferior to him. I imagine that would be your style, too.
Mr. Cooper was in the bramble – dogs required on leash at all times. This isn’t the first time a dog is off leash obvs……so if you offer a dog a treat they come to you….if the dog is leashed it can’t walk over….the end.
Yes – she become irate bc she realizes “he’s gonna win”. Meaning – she needs to leash her dog. Maybe she was scared – maybe she should have leashes the dog and walked back up the path.
Mr cooper is a black birder, openly gay black man, family has background in civil rights and protest movement. She’s not going to bully that Mr. Cooper. His family and hopefully all of us – are fighting too hard to stop this BS behavior
What I see is full scale panic attack … mind in overload. Anger and fear, but mostly fear. The police handled it properly. Too bad this video was posted. It will haunt both of these people for the rest of their lives.
Thank you for saying that! That video was so skewed & biased against Miss Cooper because it did not show the exact point of escalation. The exact point of escalation being when Mr. Cooper threatened her. I 100% believe that she went into a fight-or-flight mode in response to a perceived threat to her & her dog. When a person is in this physiological state their body’s sympathetic nervous system is activated & experiences an acute adrenaline surge. It results in sudden, illogical, irrational, & over reaching behavior. It is impossible for an individual to think rationally while in this heightened psychological state. I highly doubt Mr. Cooper would have said this same threatening remark if a 6’2 man had crossed his path with an unleashed dog. He saw a small statured woman as easy prey.
She got herself so worked up she was possibly in a psychological state of fight or flight. Nevertheless it was an overreaction that I think was probably rooted in entitlement and in racial bias, and also because this was a gender confrontation and we stupidly told women the last two years with me too that their word is law and all who claim they’re victims should be AUTOMATICALLY believed and that they had no accountability in any given situation. This story says so much about personal accountability and I’m glad it was publicized. It reminds me how to handle my emotions, to handle conflict appropriately (and he didn’t do a great job in my book either). To do the work of self examination to really get what we’d do in this situation and what our automatic triggers are for conflicts and racial bias. None of us thinks of ourselves as racist but some of us have some work to do on that score.
When this man begins filming this woman, AFTER she has put the leash on the dog and has asked him to STOP filming and leave her alone, he is now harassing her. Why isn’t anyone pointing this out, not to mention women who I think should be very concerned. It doesn’t justify Amy Cooper’s behavior at all, but what about this man’s behavior? Also, this man calls her a “Karen” online. What is THAT about? He is complaining about racism and then he uses a name to describe some white females? And to watch the twitter feast, with each person trying to outdo the other to try to show how righteous he/she is. What a world.
‘What a world.’, is an understatement. Both WERE WRONG and overreacted but go ahead and burn the ‘Karen’ witch however that will not warrant any satisfaction. She has lost her job during a horrible period, a dog that possibly had a home has been returned to death row and he has 15 minutes of fame. Sadly, ‘what a world ….’
Alright….before you make up stuff….the dog went back to the rescue agency she adopted it from. Voluntary surrender – although most agencies would have asked for it back after seeing the video. It didn’t go to a kill shelter.
I’m in awe of what people are posting with out even looking into it…
If she felt threatened then why did she walk toward the man instead of away from him, close enough that it appeared that her finger was inches away from his phone? That’s when everything escalated.
She does not leash the dog until the end of the phone call. She is holding the dog’s collar and the unattached leash in the same hand prior to that (hence why she is strangling the dog—so as not to lose grip of it). You can watch her hands and hear a clock as she closes the leash clasp at the end of the phone call.
He stops filming her the moment she FINALLY leashes her dog, and he says “thank you.”
Holding your dog in a choke hold by his COLLAR and attaching the leash to that collar (thereby “leashing” you dog) are two different things.
I’m sorry your critical thinking skills are so poor.
SH is wrong. Fake news. Watch the video. A leash is the thing that holds a collar and leads to you hand….the dog was not leashes until the end of the video. That thing she drags around the dog with – it’s a collar
Posting lies about the video is as stupid as the woman.
Except she did NOT leash the dog at that point. She grabbed the collar and janked the animal around by it. Only later does she attach the leash at wich point he stops filming
I am going to say something that is not at all politically correct … as a single white female dog owner in the city I have some sympathy for Amy Cooper. This is a very isolated area of the park and we should all remember that a single white female was brutally murdered in a NYC park just a few months ago in broad daylight by an African American man. She over-reacted and what she said was wrong, but she was clearly freaked out after a strange man enticed her dog to come to him and then wouldn’t stop filming her. He is not totally innocent in this. I would have been freaked out as well.
agreed. It is not a good idea for any man to confront a woman alone in the woods and expect her not to be scared — sadly the world has taught us better. Videoing it sadly does not make us feel safer. More so, he self-admittedly comes to the park prepared to do so. Did she handle it poorly? Hell Yes. Racist? Maybe. had he not filmed it and just called the park police, who are responsible for enforcing this instead of intimidating her by threatening to do something to the dog she “would not like,” they both could have gone home and forgotten about it. As for the animal abuse – abuse requires intent to harm. Is she hurting the dog? Yes. Does she realize it? No. She is struggling to keep the dog away, call the police and leash the dog. She is in full blown, irrational panic. If she wanted to scare him she could have fake the called. She literally called 9-1-1… she may very well be 100% wrong here, but no one has all the facts and breaking the rules doesn’t give strangers the right to harass you. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time is not an excuse to harass or threaten — no matter where you’re from or what you look like. This entire story is just unnecessarily insane and cheering on the destruction of her life is pathetically disturbed. Whether we agree or disagree with the outcome, it’s all very sad and we could stand to be more empathetic. Both to the man with the camera who feels targeted for his race and the lone woman with the dog who fears her safety.
Lie and deny, the usual route for people who cannot ever admit their skinfolks are in the wrong!
It sounds as if you are one of those people who feel it is ok to refuse to hold the door for brown person trying to enter a building because you don’t know if they are safe, but 100% justified following people into buildings without comment. Your fear doesn’t justify bias actions against people who have done nothing to terrify you. Brown lives shouldn’t be put at risk just because you are jumpy.
This is a fine bill. Using the police as a weapon should be a very serious offense.
“Brown lives shouldn’t be put at risk because you are jumpy“ is one of the best and most productive sentences on this issue I’ve ever read. Bravo.
As a single white female, if you don’t feel safe, don’t go! Going somewhere remote is no excuse for being a vile racist.
A woman should be able to go places (and even break a minor law) without having to endure such a confrontation. Telling people to limit their life experiences is asinine.
Thank you Julie, well said.
Before the recording he claimed that he said, “if you’re going to do what you want then I’m going to do what I want and you’re not going to like it”.
Now we know after the fact that he was just threatening to lure her dog away with treats, but it was still a threat.
I just took a another look at the video. I don’t think she ever put the leash on the dog. She kept holding/pulling the dog by the collar while still holding the leash (unattached) to the collar.
Great News ! I have the perfect name of the Bill
“The Jussie Smollett Bill”
I think this story is far from over. Now that this woman lost a whole a lot in one day, she will go both after the employer and after the man. Given that he had treats on him and ‘had a feeling that ‘she was going to go full “Karen”‘, lawyers will easily show that it was an intentional confrontation and will likely look for the pattern of this behavior ( ask for his cell records etc ).
Look, in this society we are not used to confrontation with a stranger ( vs. authority ) – most of the people don’t deal with them on a regular basis. Try to approach a jaywalking pedestrian, get in his face with a camera and ask him to go back to the other side of the road or you will do something he would not like… Are you kidding me? Now try to apply these to pedestrians of different races. I’m sure the color of the skin will come up in the responses. This is not a situation we want to encourage. Humiliating a person even for a good cause on video is not a way to address a problem and society should not be encouraging it…
I don’t feel that no one is taling in consideration that He may have been doing his morning ritual in CP, and the dog startled him. He could be scared of dogs and juat not telling because of he do not want to seem scared or weak. Bottomlime the dog ahould not have been off leash in that area, and ahe should have respected that he kindly asked her to please put the dog on the leash. Where is the humanity in people ir even consideration for others. She could have just gone across the street and this whole ordeal could have been avoided.
This legislation seems foolish and ill-conceived. If someone is afraid, they should be free to call 911 / the police without fear of reprisal. This kind of law, when applied in this specific situation, seems clear. But consider situations when someone might hesitate to call for help and really needed it. Not well thought out.
Can somebody please explain how she is a racist and how she is a liar? The “man” has admitted to threatening her. She felt threatened and called the police and gave an accurate description. Is she also sexist for saying he’s a man? Do you think if she was threatened by a white man she wouldn’t call the police? Do you think this man would’ve dared threaten a black woman like he did this white woman?
If we’re just posing a bunch of inane silly questions, how about this one–
If it was a white man who approached Amy, do you think she would have said “I’m telling the police a CAUCASIAN MAN is threatening me”?
Of course she would. I’m assuming you have never called 911. They ask for a description. How would your describe Mr Cooper?
The woman is already whining that this has “..destroyed my life!” She only has herself to blame.
To the people criticizing the REAL victim – Mr. Cooper – it’s not like we have video of cops callously murdering black people during apprehension–Oh, wait—we do!
She KNEW exactly what she was doing. She put his life in danger and should be properly punished.
This is a horrible illustration of the need add this NY law. State Senator Brian Benjamin is showing strong leadership and we should thank him for moving this forward so quickly.
I’m not sure about this bill. Isn’t it already a crime to make a false police report?
The State Senator says, “We need to send a message loud and clear that if you falsely put someone’s life at risk you will end up facing very serious consequences.”
Shouldn’t the bigger concern be that calling the police about a black male, whether or not the accusation is true, puts that black male’s life at risk?
Who is holding the police accountable?
I should have read all the comments before submitting mine but there are so many. Agreed.
This women should have lost more than her job
Disgusting and Despicable
“She should have lost more than her job”
???????
Like what? You have some suggestions?
Her right arm?
Her left leg?
Her eye?
Her life?
What in hell’s name are you talking about?
I think there is more to this – not that it justifies her behavior, but she could have been frightened based on something that happened to her in the past, and she became terrified of being attacked (again). But regardless of anything traumatic that has happened to us, we have a responsibility to behave a certain way in public with respect to others. Something must have triggered this response in her. Not defending what she did, just trying to understand it.
And he could have been frightened of the dog, and in his nicest way without looking like a “punk” he is asking her to leash her dog. Wrong is wrong.
This is how the gentleman’s version on the story leading up until AC swatting him and choking out her poor dog.
ME: Ma’am, dogs in the Ramble have to be on the leash at all times. The sign is right there.
HER: The dog runs are closed. He needs his exercise.
ME: All you have to do is take him to the other side of the drive, outside the Ramble, and you can let him run off leash all you want.
HER: It’s too dangerous.
ME: 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.
HER: What’s that?
ME (to the dog): Come here, puppy!
HER: He won’t come to you.
ME: We’ll see about that…
Christian Cooper said he was planning to offer the dog treats. He told NBC New York, “If the habitat is destroyed we won’t be able to go there to see the birds, to enjoy the plantings. The only way they can keep the dog from eating the treat is to put it on a leash. At some point, she decided I’m gonna play the race card, I guess.”
He threatened her and what you got out of that is her playing the race card? How did she play the race card by giving an accurate description?
I think your posting name maybe in jest – that said. He didn’t threaten her. Or if she felt threatened, she threatened him right back. I would say bullied. But pretending to post with a more “black” sounding name doesn’t make me think your normal or correct
If the dog was on a leash, as it is supposed to be, the man calling to the dog would be restricted by the dog owner. He did not threaten her or her dog.
And to address the issue of the race card, you can hear the intonation in her voice that she using his race against him. Any person living in today’s society knows the risk of doing that…
They were both wrong. He should have minded his own business as long as the dog was not trying to hurt him. I saw him interviewed and he even tried to lure the dog towards him with treats. No! But she was a liar by saying he was threatening her. She should have told him to leave her alone and not tell her what to do (even if it is the law to leash a dog on the Ramble). They both behaved badly. But I feel sorry for the dog.
He admitted on his Facebook page that he was going to do something she wasn’t going to like. Then he started calling her dog over. That’s normal to you?
His goal was to get her to leash the dog. Perhaps he could have chosen his words better….but lots of people carry treats for unexpected dogs. 98% of the time it’s simply a way to engage and they ask the owner if it is okay to give the treat….1% of the time it is to attract a dog that has run off or that needs distracting. 1% is to make a point.
Yeah she is not stable and did an offensive thing. And the fact that she couldn’t tell how much she was hurting her own dog is unbelievable.
But so is stuffing your pockets full of dog treats to go around threatening people and making them thank they are poison! I mean how can people gloss over this? This is not a nice or normal man. He is a dog walker stalker!
Honestly his actions remind me a lot of all the rich entitled white UWSiders walking around thinking they are the covid mask police. People have to stop this crap where they think they have a right to enforce rules!
Frankly he is as bad as her and maybe worse. If you don’t like something you report it to the authorities and that’s it.
I haven’t seen anything in any articles about the incident saying he was giving dogs’ treats to make their owners think he was giving out poison. And instead of telling people to stop enforcing rules, how about telling entitled Upper West Siders to start following them so total strangers don’t have to reprimand them for not doing so?!
Yup NS is one of them too. People will always not follow the rules but every rich person in UWS over the age of about 55 suddenly thinks they are Batman and all of a sudden gets to tell people what they can and can’t do. Guess what that’s breaking a rule too! You are not the police, go home and mind your own business!
If the dog is leashed it couldn’t eat treats. That’s the point.
The question is where is our faith in the police and the system to do the right thing without a recording!?!
Only people not paying attention have that faith. Take a look at the world around you. Open a newspaper.
Um I’m a journalist!
Not only she’s a racist but she almost choke her to death instead of leashing and continue with fabricated stories.
By giving an accurate description,she’s racist?
I am reading these comments and I am in agreement with moat comments. But, I am appalled that we America feel that any of our thoughts are okay. We should be furious about the fact that we have to fear the very service people who are hired to potect and serve us, the police, the judges etc. A black, white, latino should never fear calling the cops or to have the cops called on them because the outcome maybe death. This fear and mindstate needs to be addressed because this is why Amy thought it was okay to do what she did. The mayor, governor and the president and whomever else who are in charge of the law needs to address this, retrain our officers and regulate what happens in courts. The system is abdisgrace to HUMANKIND. We the people get to talk about this..America can really suck sometimes…
I’m a little surprised that this woman’s overreaction to a man threatening her has drawn more outrage than the person who was violently beating the elderly man in the nursing home not long ago.
Do you think it would be too much trouble to actually capitalize the word Black as in a race and not a color? Or just use the term African American if you are that daft.
Thank you
God bless
In what universe is the not a crime?
The dog is the only innocent one in this scenario.
Not to mention, the real victim. Poor little guy… I so hope he gets an incredibly loving and caring home.
That dog must be like “these mufuckn humans!”
One doesn’t own a dog but creepily keeps a pocket of treats handy as a self-appointed lawn cop no one asked for, carefully provoking people, editing the start of videos to his own narrative, until he finally finds the right victims (especially the dog). Coerces someone’s dog away and talks about doing “something [she] won’t like” like a movie villain….
The other: an entitled dog owner, who bosses people around for a living, doesn’t follow rules then gets appalled when someone calls her out. Then tells a man what his own race is in a superior way “I will tell them an African American [did this]“
My God… if anyone finds a hero in this nightmare of humanity, it had better be the dog, for being the only innocent. I pray for anyone who thinks this is the way forward for anyone.
And an entitled black man who feels he has the right to tell complete strangers what to do.
what happened that wasn’t on the video before he started recording. She obviously felt threatened. is this a case of sexism vs racism. could he be the real Karen. It seems very overblown to me.
Now the story about the white police office killing the black man by smashing his knee into his neck… well that is intolerable.
It’s not obvious at all. It seems like she was faking the “threatened” thing and her apology is full of lies so I would bet her side of the story about what happened before the recording would be full of lies too.
I think this is bad for everyone. I think that Mr. Cooper may not be so innocent in all of this and seemed like he may have provoked her. Why was it so desperately important to him that she had a small dog off-leash? Let it go. She shouldn’t have called the cops – for sure – but if he is recording her that just adds fuel to the fire. A large man harassing a petite woman by herself in remote area of the park? Everyone was to blame, as far as I can tell
“seemed like”
based on what exactly? and maybe he wouldn’t have had to record if we didn’t live in such a racist society that a black man has to have video evidence to be believed
TF are you talking about?! There’s no bad people on both sides….just her.
So black men are allowed to threaten people?
Because the Ramble (the part of Cp where this incident took place)is a designated natural preserve. Its a favourite spot for Birdwatchers and animals there are supposed to live in peace, without having to fear being chased around by dogs on the loose. Christian Cooper happens to BE an avid birdwatcher and thats why the topic was so important to him. And wether its a private person telling you about it or a cop : Dogs have to be leashed there, no ifs, buts or whatevers. She just had to leave the Ramble and go to another part ofthe park and she could have unleashed him all the day long
I almost completely support the bill but do have one concern which is that I wonder if it would make some people afraid to file a report about a legitimate hate crime for fear it would be ruled as fake.
I think you missunderstood the intention of this bill. Its not about reporting hate-crimes its about making false reports with a heavy focus on race a hatecrime itself. I might be wrong though
Thank you for your efforts. Amy Cooper’s behavior is criminal and she should be punished accordingly.
Kenton Torres?? Wow!
Wow, she should get fired and she should get fined for abusing her dog. She was lifting him up by his neck, let’s see how she would feel if she got lifted by her neck.. That’s so sad how racism has really gotten so bad in this country.
Finally! These days, those people know full well they are potentially threatening the life of an African American man by these false reports. Yet, they continue. I believe she should have been arrested for filing a false report. Unfortunately, I also believe that type of person will not change! Their hate will grow, instead as they blame the Black person for the problems they created.
His action with the dog treats, etc, was bizarre and confrontational. Meanwhile, she seems to be a pretty unstable person who totally freaked out. He’s big but he’s clearly a gentle guy, which you can tell from his gentle and calm voice. This situation never should have escalated to this point. But the things she says in her call to the police and her panicked tone of voice, which I’m guessing she was emphasizing to get a police response, is HIGHLY irresponsible and dangerous, especially because he is a black man. Though, the NYPD is now majority P.O.C., so the responding officers were not necessarily going to be white. But she created the FALSE IMPRESSION that she was in danger. She knows she wasn’t. She just didn’t like being videotaped, for whatever reason, maybe for professional reasons, maybe because she has a screw lose, whatever. And, yes, everyone knows that the place to run your dog in C.P. is that big hill on the south side of the 72nd St. transverse.
He actually explained why he has the treat on him in his Facebook-post about the incident. The part of Central Park where this took place, the ramble, is a designated wildlife-preservation. Animals there are meant to live in peace and without constant fear of being chased by freeroaming dogs wich is why there is a mandate for the leash there. Also, dogs are often digging up the plants there. The Ramble is oftenfrequented by Birdwatchers like Mister Cooper and unfortunately alot of people ignore the leash rule. So he has taken to keeping treats on him with the simple reason that, if the dog-owner doesnt want the dog to go for the treat, they just have to follow the rules and leash their dog. There is no mallicious intention behind that.
That’s called taking the law into your own hands. You don’t have the right to feed someone’s dog without their permission.
Anyone viewing this video can tell you its racism. The first thing she says to the caller is there is an African American man threatening me. She could had said anything else what he was wearing height but she continued to say African man. Meaning she associates blacks as threatening. What is your definition of threatening ma’am? This man was clearly at a distance the recording is not threatening lets be honest with social media we are always recording taking pictures etc… Everyone in the comments need to stop referencing things that happen in the past and look at the facts that were presented. This man was not hostile he wasn’t yelling or screaming. She stereotyped him. Here I am a white woman alone and a black man approaches me I am in danger that’s the issue we need to address.
Please pass this bill!!
Clearly this woman has emotional problems and Franklin Templeton instead of assisting her in getting the help that she obviously needs, fired her because they were virtue signaling.
Being fearful does not necessarily mean one is racist when one considers that in that area while the general population of blacks are 13% they tend to commit most of the crime.
But clearly the woman has emotional issues and I personally will never deal with Franklin Templeton for my investments since they showed not one bit of compassion but chose instead to Virtue signal.
By the way, I am really tired of people misusing words like racism or racist, bigoted, or prejudice.
A racist is one who simply believes that one race is superior to another. A bigot is someone who hates someone because they are a member of another group, and Prejudice simply means to prejudge something which is what was going on here. So Franklin Templeton executives, instead of worrying about racism perhaps you ought to be worrying about mental health and quite frankly whoever fired Amy Cooper probably ought to be fired himself but without compassion this time since he showed none. Amy Cooper needs help and now she’s going to have to be taken care of by the state because she just lost her job thanks to a bunch of idiots in an obviously idiotic financial company. Yeah you on the left keep on virtue signaling. A civil war is coming and we’ll clean up this mess.
I hate everybody.
What’s that called?
lol
(Ahole?)
lol
Totally agree. Franklin Templeton could have used this incident to highlight the need for opening a dialogue and dealing with this woman’s perceived mental health issues. Franklin could have pioneered a platform for addressing the greater societal issues but instead took the easy way out. Everyone deserves to get help and a 2nd chance. It’s really not right of everyone who doesn’t know this woman to definitively state that she has mental deficiencies. And enough of this not being able to accurately describe the race of someone because the police might take more aggressive action with a Black man. That’s a police problem, not a citizen problem.
Two things:
Yes, she has emotional problems, but that doesn’t mean that she isn’t a bigot. Even if you send her off for treatment, she’ll still be a bigot.
Financial service firms cannot take the risk of having an unstable employee who deals with clients’ financial assets.
Not sure why my post did not make it in But this young lady is a Registered Democrat
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/amy-cooper-central-park-racist-dog-walker-trump-a9533581.html
This was a shocking incident and I’m pleased that it was handled swiftly and appropriately by the city and Franklin Templeton.
One small step in the march towards unity and diversity.
People here at the epicenter are on edge. We know the virus is still around and we’re open the petri dish again. It is much easier to look outward and be all judgy about others’ behaviors than to feel our own pain and suffering. Demagogues explode this.
Extreme crisis bring out the best and the worst in people. Sometimes within the same person. Try always to be acting out from our best intentions. It’s a good time to practice “compassion towards all, malice towards none” as everyone is suffering on some level. Even if your goodwill (without a tinge of judgment) is received badly or neutral, you will have a better night sleep and improved immunity.
Crapping on others gives you a quick burst of emotional release and a false sense of control. Then you’re right back to where you were a few moments later. That’s if the encounter didn’t lead you down some other events with catastrophic consequences.
We do need everyone on the same page on this. It’s a social decrease more than anything else. It’s unfortunate we have a social decrease in the WH fighting for his political life.
While I don’t condone her behavior, I think it’s important to look at ALL of the facts of the situation, including the ones that Mr. Cooper has not released on video. Should she have had her dog on the least in the Rambles? Absolutely. Should they both have taken a deep breath and walked away from the situation rather than —both — choosing to escalate it? Absolutely. But by his own admission Mr. Cooper called Ms. Cooper’s dog over to him and told her “you’re not going to like what I’m about to do.” That is a threat, plain and simple. While, after the fact, he said that he was only going to give her dog a biscuit, does that really make a lot of sense? Why would you argue with a person, ask them to put their dog on a least but then call the dog over to you thereby actually preventing them from “doing what you asked” and telling them that “they’re not going to like what you’re about to do”?? Who says something like that without wanting to incite fear? Which is exactly what he succeeded in doing. She was alone, and was likely concerned that he was going to harm the dog in any number of ways — kick it, carry it off, poison it (all things that have happened to dogs in NYC). Who carries dog biscuits around in their pocket when they don’t have a dog?? It’s curious that this part of the exchange is not on video. It seems to me that her fear was not of him as an African-American man but of his own admitted threat that he was going to do something to her dog that she would not like. So instead of everyone throwing salt on this wound, I would encourage all to look at how unhealthy interactions are created on both sides, and try to heal them in our own interactions, in our own corners of the world.
Who are we to say that she didn’t feel threatened when he said that he was going to do something she wouldn’t like and then clearly tried to lure the dog with treats. If his intention was to give the dogs treats so that she would be forced to leash her dog, he’s an idiot. He had no right to engage with her dog. The only way she could then leash her dog was to approach him as he was feeding the dog. He was provoking her into having to go near him to get her dog back. That’s an unsettling situation for anyone let alone a petite woman vs. a large man. Some would call that threatening and we shouldn’t try to get inside her head as armchair psychoanalysts calling her a racist. If we deal with every unhinged person in NY this way, there would be a new story every hour. It’s also very strange that everyone is bent out of shape over her handling of the dog while she was panicking but no one cares about his crossing the line with luring and feeding the dog.
People here at the epicenter are on edge. We know the virus is still around and we’re open the petri dish again. It is much easier to look outward and be all judgy about others’ behaviors than to feel our own pain and suffering. Demagogues exploit this.
Extreme crisis bring out the best and the worst in people. Sometimes within the same person. Try always to be acting out from our best intentions. It’s a good time to practice “compassion towards all, malice towards none” as everyone is suffering on some level. Even if your goodwill (without a tinge of judgment) is received negatively or neutral, you will have a better night sleep and improved immunity.
Crapping on others gives you a quick burst of emotional release and a false sense of control. Then you’re right back to where you were a few moments later. That’s if the encounter didn’t lead you down some other events with catastrophic consequences.
We do need everyone on the same page on this. It’s a social decrease more than anything else. It’s unfortunate we have a social decrease in the WH fighting for his political life.
a necessary bill, unfortunately
The incident has numerous nuances. Simply saying that she is a racist because she called the cops and described him as African American, misses the point. She is a registered democrat who undoubtedly hates Trump and thinks of herself as liberal and open minded. Her friends are probably shocked that she did that as she “doesn’t have a racist bone in her body. ” Neither does your liberal democrat neighbor, coworker or sister. But all of them notice and are aware of race and, even unconsciously, model behavior and mindset with those differences and stereotypes in mind. Sad truth.
He was foolish and acted in a socially stupid manner (not to stereotype further, but guys who are avid comic book fanatics and bird watchers (as he is) arent generally the most socially savvy..). He threatened her. He told her, by his own account, that if she does what she does, he will do what he will do, and “you’re not going to like it”. He then called the dog over, and she said the dog wouldnt go over, and he said “we’ll see about that” and then reached his hand into his pocket to get the treat. She flipped out: “Dont Touch My Dog!!” He stupidly riled her up and baited her. Her reaction was rash and retributory, as in ‘oh, yeah, now I’m going to get you by calling the cops and telling them a black man is threatening me.’ Completely rash and stupid response. Both of them are socially insensitive with low EQ. Probably deserve each other.
But her actions were not racist in the same way the acts of all these cops looking to bang black heads are racist. She just used the race card as a tool, as a weapon. Stupid and foolish. But what we need to recognize from this is that race is so deeply ingrained in our pysche. We notice it and behave in response to it – even those of us who would never in a million years consider ourselves racist by any stretch of the imagination. Sad truth.
It’s nauseating to hear so much drivel about what a dangerous situation she put him in because as a Black man, he might end up getting killed. Really? Does this concern stem from a belief that SWAT teams would descend on the Rambles and rappel from helicopters under cover of smoke grenades in a team effort to kill him? Were teams of police going to crawl through the bushes and shoot him dead? A lot of you are out of your minds! Why get so outraged and hysterical over what might have happened when you can already see what actually happened regarding the NYPD response. They came and went with no fanfare, brutality, aggressiveness, or harm being commited. Shoulda woulda coulda is not an excuse for overhyping what Ms. Cooper did.
While it appears distasteful to so many, I give her the benefit of the doubt that she was in fact scared of something going to happen and felt defenseless. It’s not for us to say that she shouldn’t feel that way when looking in the rearview mirror. Shame on all the women who scream about the inequities regarding how women are treated and then dump on her.
And the focus how she handled the dog is overdone – she was panicking and probably didn’t even realize what she was doing to the dog while trying to get out of a bad situation. I’d like to see how many of you would react under pressure.
Ms. Cooper is likely in total shock that she was fired. After all, what did I do that was so wrong, she must be thinking. Well, now, at least she has plenty of time to think about what she did, why she did it and why she believes it was ok to do. I feel strongly about this and I only hope she comes to grips with how small a person she is.
We can pontificate all we want on what his/her intentions were in that awful situation. He was well within his rights as a free man to record an encounter. She stepped way over the line with a fraudulent police call and now NY City Human rights and the DA’s office wants a closer look.
https://abc7ny.com/amp/central-park-dog-karen-woman-amy-cooper/6214705/
She pissed off birdwatchers, dog owners (that screen shot with the dog’s neck/tongue hanging out and the left paw tapping her leg is really disturbing), Black community leaders, Cops, and probably cyclists (off leash dogs cause many early morning crashes on the loop drive).
Not so easy with a short video.
The dog should have known better!
I agree. These false reports can well be responsible for ending a person’s life – black or white. And these reports can take up serious time and effort by first responders that could be used elsewhere.
sounds to me like she broke up an encounter in the RAMBLES
You’re the second or third guy to say that on WSR. I don’t get it. Is it because the man is black and you’re siding with her because she’s white? Or that he’s gay, so because it was in the Rambles that must be it? He’s a bird watcher. Stop being a racist or a homophobe or a troll. Amy Cooper is clearly unhinged and vicious when she is under stress. She should have put a leash on her dog or walked away, but I think she got nuts that anyone, let alone a man, let alone a black man, told her what to do, and she reacted in a terrible way that literally put that man’s life in danger. At the least, she needs psychiatric help. I see someone who is a very unhappy person.
So are we done with the mindless mantra of “believe all women?”
I hope so. I call it the, “Me too, but Not Me!” movement. Me Too if they feel like being victims, but Not Me when they’re the perpetrators. So typical of these morally higher than thou art people as long as it benefits me. I, as a woman, am disgusted with the likes of her and other hypocrites like her. Hopefully people start judging women equally instead having an automatic pity party for women and stating that all women should be believed–how sexist is that?
There is no way possible to address every issue that has happened with similarities such as these. Looking at these incidents over the past few days or even years, times have reverted back to Slavery, Civil Rights Relating to Acts of Violence against Human Beings. Some People of Power(Statue in Society and Monetary Values, people attribute to power and success) have put some people in the mindset that they can do what ever they want to. Either there Statue in Society (Work) or their Monetary Values can get them out. It has to STOP!! Racism is ALIVE and people are to freely exercising it on Innocent People and it’s not only affecting lives. I’s COSTING LIVES!!!. Thank you for your acknowleding this unthinkable and senseless act. She is now paying the price for being “UNKIND” per se!!
I absolutely support the passage of this bill. Long time overdue. Thank you smart phones and social media and police cameras.
Give the stupid woman back her dog. She loves him. It is not his fault. Give the woman back her dog. (if you haven’t already done so)
Totally agree with the prposed bill. It puts someone’s life at risk. It is a form of attempted murder or attempted manslaughter. Maybe that crime should also apply so that people would think twice before using 911 accusations for racial purposes.
People like that lady should go to jail for it.
She put his life at risk. There should be consequences. I’m white and I know she knew she was threatening him.
What Amy Cooper did is beyond horrible to incriminate an innocent person because of their skin color. She seems like an angry and unhinged person.
Her racist actions could of cost that poor man’s life. I’m a white woman and do not condone racism.
We are all From the same race: the human race and we should all be kind to each other.
Will say this. Maybe aspects of incident unfortunate but (from the news) unwarrented wholesale calumous aspersions heaped on the lady (not to mention a certain ethnicity) are indefensible. Likely her attorney will sue Franklyn for wading in with virtue signalling prima facie libelous invasion of privacy & wrongful termination w compound (Twitter) malice. She’ll get restitution of her employment; or maybe gets a fair monetary settlement but she needs to legally fight that; ie in any event her job had nothing to do with a personal incident that came into public opinion viciously & joyfully (& quite racist-ly) doxxed online. All of a sudden a woman (alone in park; guy is bugging her & keeps at it, etc.) is unentitled to summon police if she feels threatened?; never mind the equally racist and cultural Maxist ‘white fragility’ defamation meme. I don’t defend any overreation on any parties’ part but the poisonous (in this case) atmosphere of weaponized white guilt over “racial equivalance” a/w/a overreation empty heads liberals piling on over a 0% consequence incident in itself disproportionate to the supposed social comity they are such self designated champions of. Every little wrinkle in the news cycle is another Scopes Trial like controversy or other opportunity to level santimonious malevolence against perhaps a mistake made error but caught in the glare of orwellian iPhone panopticon. Thanks WSR. Stay well all. We’ll all soon be liberated from our masks. Haha..
This is sad, However; People’s actions are guided by their thoughts and beliefs and the bible says “Out of the heart doth the mouth speak.” For Amy to be a VP of a company and had this hate in her heart is a revelation for more than her company. We are only as reliable as our thoughts and actions. No one can read our minds but actions speak louder. She has been decieved as to the rights of other human beings and must suffer the consequences of her actions. Too bad about her finances.
I am sorry say this, but see a lot of white professionals
Woman. Who grow up in wealth towns and moved to big city and have segregated people of Color, they talk stuck up.
Both Amy Cooper and Christian Cooper were wrong – her dog was unleashed and he had no legitimate right to film her – however, the entire episode has been grossly exaggerated – the real problem came from his sister’s escalation of the issue – look at this YouTube video and judge for yourself —-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6sF8qivmEo
Great plan Mr. Benjamin. Social media is a real mixed bag to me. Great that wrong doing can be caught on it.
Bad that the whole country can act as judge and jury without perspective.
Truth to me is that our society is culpable for these awful injustices. Key is, can we rehabilitate offenders and criminals without excessive punishment. This dog walker did a significant wrong and reacted due to emotional fear. She could not do any better in that moment, and I believed felt threatened by his words and actions with the treats. The history of horrible treatment of people of color clearly brings us to respond extremely and cause this woman to lose her job and dog. WE must hope that less extreme and more moderate racial interactions will occur.
Christian Cooper does have the authority to approach, admonish, coerce, or enforce the “leash law” against any person walking their dog in any part of the city.
Everything he did was wrong…he does not have the permission of the city to be the enforcer of the “leash law” in the park.
He is condemned by his own words…all of his actions were pre-meditated to intimidate the “dog walker” of that day. By his own confession…this was not the first person that had to endure “ire” of this bird watcher’s theatrical methods of intimidation.
It is very wrong to video someone after you have intentionally upset them.
What he (and, his sister) have said (and, done) subsequent to this event is beyond “wrong”!
I guess the only thing that really explains the event is that the “black inner Karen” of Christian Cooper (and, his sister, Melody) have successfully “bluffed” the public into believing that what he did was okay.
This man does not have the authority to approach anyone in the park to enforce the leash law with his pre-meditated antics!
It was wrong…and, he should be thoroughly ashamed of what he did. And, what he has done and said subsequent to the event.
Shame on you Christian Cooper (and, your sister, Melody)!