Amy Cooper: #FireHer trends after white woman calls cops on black man who asked her to leash dog in Central Park
MANHATTAN, NEW YORK: A woman was placed on administrative leave by the investment company she works for after she went viral for calling cops on a black man in Central Park. The woman in the video was identified as Amy Cooper who called the police on a man after an argument. In the viral video, the man, identified as Christian Cooper was heard asking Amy to put her dog on a leash.
Both Amy and Christian had told CNN that the argument had started because Amy's dog had not been on a leash. According to the park's website, all pets are required to be kept on a leash inside. Amy refused to do that and the two got into an argument where she threatened to call the cops on him. Her response sparked outrage on social media with many users asking for her to be fired from her job. Check out the video here.
In the video, she is heard saying, "I'm taking a picture and calling the cops. I'm going to tell them there's an African American man threatening my life."
The video shows Amy on her phone. "There's a man, African American, he has a bicycle helmet," she says. "He is recording me and threatening me and my dog." Meanwhile, her dog appears to be straining and trying to get free while she tries to restrain it.
As a result of the viral video, she has currently been placed on leave. The company, Franklin Templeton, issued a statement that said, "We take these matters very seriously, and we do not condone racism of any kind. While we are in the process of investigating the situation, the employee involved has been put on administrative leave."
The company shared their response on Twitter and were bombarded with social media users asking them to fire her with the topic garnering a lot of attention. One such user shared, "Fire her. Anything other than that is a failure on your part to punish Amy Copper for being a dog-choking racist." A second user shared, "Amy Cooper was treated like the boys in blue after they murder one of us, placed on administrative leave! Fire her a**. There's video, no investigation needed."
A third chimed in, "It is on tape that on top of being a lying racist who could have gotten a man killed if not assaulted...your employee falsified a police report, which is a felony offense, AND abused her dog in one fell swoop. This is not a human I would want involved with my company. Fire her." Another added, "Fire her! Racism, animal cruelty, acknowledgment, and utilization of white privilege playing the victim... ALL IN ONE MINUTE LONG VIDEO!!!! @FTI_US you’re truly embarrassing yourself."
In the video, when Amy refused to put her dog on a leash, Christian tried to offer the pet a treat. While speaking to NBC, he said, "The only way they can keep the dog from eating the treat is to put it on a leash." He continued, "At some point, she decided I’m gonna play the race card, I guess." In the video, she was also seen pulling her dog by the collar as she walked up to Christian and demanded that he stop recording.
Amy spoke to CNN and issued an apology. "I'm not a racist. I did not mean to harm that man in any way," she shared adding that she also meant no harm to the African American community. "I think I was just scared," she shared. "When you’re alone in the Rumble, you don't know what’s happening. It’s not excusable, it’s not defensible." She also said that her "entire life is being destroyed right now."
Christian was later reported to be a former Marvel editor. While they share the same second name, he is not related to Amy in any way. The incident happened at a wooded part of Central Park called the Ramble.