Over the Memorial Day weekend, a man named Christian Cooper went to the Ramble in Central Park to do some holiday bird-watching. That area of the park is apparently one of the best bird-watching spots in New York. It’s also an area which gets a lot of dog-walkers, and there are signs throughout that dogs must be on leashes. A woman named Amy Cooper (no relation) was in that area with her unleashed dog. Christian asked the woman to please leash her dog. This is what happened, in Christian’s words:
Here's how Chris recounts the incident: pic.twitter.com/HSVk7s2gFB
— Roy Tsao (@RoyTsaoNYC) May 25, 2020
That’s when Christian began recording the woman’s freak out – the woman was so enraged that she nearly choked her dog to death and she called 9-1-1 on an African-American man who simply told her to leash her dog (Christian’s sister posted this on her Twitter):
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
Christian, a former Marvel Comics editor and currently the senior biomedical editor at Health Science Communications, also recounted the incident on his Facebook page. Amy was employed by Franklin Templeton, only Franklin Templeton got thousands of calls yesterday that they needed to fire their employee. They are investigating and while that investigation happens, they put her on leave:
In response to an incident involving an employee on May 25th, Franklin Templeton issued the following statement. pic.twitter.com/8f2lMwK0r5
— Franklin Templeton (@FTI_US) May 26, 2020
Amy also had to surrender the dog back to the cocker spaniel rescue agency (the dog rescue worked faster than anyone else):
Thank you to the concerned public for reaching out to us about a video involving a dog that was adopted from our rescue a few years ago. As of this evening, the owner has voluntarily surrendered the dog in question to our rescue while this matter is being addressed. 1/2
— Abandoned Angels (@NYCockerRescue) May 26, 2020
Apparently, when the cops did arrive to the Ramble, both Amy and Christian were not there. But I still feel like Amy should be arrested for making a false report, and for trying to weaponize her white tears to hurt (or perhaps even kill) a black man via a police shooting or violent arrest. Amy spoke to CNN, and said she wanted to “publicly apologize to everyone. I’m not a racist. I did not mean to harm that man in any way” and she apparently also said “she also didn’t mean any harm to the African American community.” She’s still trying to weaponize her white tears too, telling CNN: “I think I was just scared. When you’re alone in the Ramble, you don’t know what’s happening. It’s not excusable, it’s not defensible.” She also complained that her “entire life is being destroyed right now.” Oh well.
Photos courtesy of Steshka Willems via Pexels and Pixabay via Pexels.
Amy Cooper is a VP at Franklin Templeton.
Cussing him out wasn’t good enough for Karen, she had to go the full Karenina on the poor guy.
I bet Franklin Templeton don’t mean to fire her. They’re probably just hoping to ride this out. Her intent was so clear, there’s just nothing to debate and she should have been let go by now.
I hope people keep up the pressure on them to let her go. There have to be real life consequences for this kind of vicious behaviour.
So this guy is an avid birder that she screams at and harasses and she is CHOKING that poor dog the whole time. I had to stop the video when I saw her dragging the pupping and strangling him. I couldn’t watch more. It was too upsetting.
What is Franklin Templeton? What kind of company is it? She’s an atrocious person.
Me too, Winnie. I had to stop the video with the way she was dragging that poor dog around by its neck. I’m so glad the rescue worked quickly to get the dog. It’s sad that the dog was taken from the home it’s known for the last several years, but if that woman shows so little care for her dog, it should be re-homed.
yes, go to the Franklin Templeton website and send them an email demanding her removal. Her behavior is/was atrocious and she needs to suffer some real consequences. That poor dog was nearly strangled.
At her level, I’m sure firing her would involve lawyers. At best, they’ll just quietly let her “resign” with severance to avoid a lawsuit.
Their contact info on their website is currently down, go figure, but if you google contacts, you can find their media folks.
@Winnie – I can’t even look at the top photo on this article. The helpless puppy’s face. I can’t.
@agirlandherdog – Agreed. It might be sad if the dog is taken from his home, but if she’s choking and dragging him like that in public, how does she treat him in private? She clearly does not care about anyone but herself. Doesn’t care about the safety of the bird watcher, of other people, of her dog, of other dogs or about the rules.
That poor dog. She was choking it in the midst of her false rant! Is sad, but thank goodness the dog will not be with her anymore. What an idiot. Hopefully they fire her, she will likely not change…
What bothered me is how many times she said African American man. Also if you were the 911 dispatcher listening to her you would think she was being or had been assaulted as her voice is so shakey and scared. This is how innocent black men get killed. Imagine if there was an armed onlooker who came upon her. What conclusion might they jump to?
That said I dont know how I feel about her whole life being destroyed because this is public. I never feel comfortable with that fact in our modern social media lives.
‘”she is CHOKING that poor dog the whole time.”
It bothers me so much. The poor dog”s front feet don’t touch the ground, she is just dragging him around by his neck. It is chilling, because it really shows her disregard for other living things. Just as she abuses this dog, she aggressively comes after this man. It’s complete BS that she is trying to use fear as an excuse, when you don’t walk that far to get in someone’s face if you are afraid of them.
This video has so many very bad things in it.
When she was dragging the poor dog around I wanted to scream “Put the fcking leash on him!”
And the man always sounded polite and reasonable.
@Bella – agreed, she seems to be mid-management level – certainly senior but not the upper echelons and c suite of management. I work in the same industry and there are a lot of grand job titles that float around to the point where they don’t even mean too much!
The best outcome would be if they agree to accept her resignation. If FT were to fire her, likely there would be a settlement to reach that agreement, and she does not deserve to get paid for this!
hopefully not for much longer.
this is some BULL. she knew exactly what she was doing by calling the cops on a black man.
and the apology “to everyone who saw that video”…WTF?! apologize to the black man whose life you put in danger and the black community as a whole, who are being perpetuated as being inherently dangerous based on skin color.
I just sent Franklin Templeton an email demanding her termination. Hopefully we can keep the pressure on and she will face some small consequence for her racist, hateful and illegal behavior.
They fired her today.
I just read this story and was happy to read the news that Franklin Templeton fired her. I wrote them an email thanking them for firing her abusive, racist, lying ass!
She probably will lose her job over her bad behavior. Stupid, stupid woman to react like that. Yes, she could have been frightened by being alone with a man but why define his race.
She wasn’t afraid of him at all.
She walked up to him for crying out loud! Do you walk up to someone you’re frightened of, demanding them to stop filming you?
She was not afraid. She was extremely defiant and enraged and acted like a cold blooded bigot. Have you seen the video, Adrianna?
No…but I agree with you. That makes it much worse, lying to get him in trouble and endangering his life. I’ll definitely watch the video now….sorry about that.
A fired VP…………..haha KARMA
yup, she’s been canned. deservedly so.
She got fired 👍🏻
this sent me through the roof. when she threatens to call the cops on an African American male, she knew exactly what she was threatening. and then she gets on the phone and fakes her distress so the cops will get there? she should be charged with attempted murder. and I’m glad she’s suspended from her job right now. what a complete asshole.
Not to mention this asshat is choking the kibble out of the poor dog while she is having a racist tantrum. I hope she has the day that she deserves!
Her fake white tears could have got that poor man killed. I too hope she loses her job. Glad she lost that sweet dog. Couldn’t stand listening to it crying while she was choking it.
That poor dog got so stressed out from her behaviour too. I can understand people being at the edge of their wits right now but there is no chance in hell I would ever do this to anyone or react like this and she used the African American description so many times it was horrible to watch this. There is no excuse for what she did. Good they took the dog away from her at least.
I agree. This broad is such a nasty person. The man didn’t do anything wrong!
The whole thing gave me chills and made me sick to my stomach. The way she emphasized “AFRICAN AMERICAN” on the call shows exactly what she was doing. Not just a “man is threatening me” (still false, but could be chalked up to just craziness as opposed to calculated, weaponized racism).
A lot of folks on line have a lot of fun at the Karens, and a lot of them that they mock are women from the suburbs and esp the south. They also imply that they’re housewives with nothing else going on in their lives. This shows that “Karens” can live in liberal coastal cities and can have real jobs.
@mumbles, exactly. It sends chills down my spine. She knew exactly what she was alleging and trying to start. At first I wondered why he wasn’t defending himself – but he probably knew that even if he was yelling “I come in peace! I am not a threat!” the police would have just heard an AFRICAN AMERICAN MALE shouting.
Mumbles, regarding your statement “Not just a “man is threatening me” (still false, but could be chalked up to just craziness as opposed to calculated, weaponized racism).”
I am a Mental Health doctor, and her behaviour is not “craziness”. Being ‘crazy’ or mentally unwell is due to an inherent pathology in the mind and in how the mind works; it can also be due to other factors such as psychoactive substances, a general medical condition impacting the mind or psychosocial stressors / environmental factors.
The fact that this woman (and, as a woman of colour myself, it takes all sorts of control to state woman and not go off on a rant) had the presence of mind to act and manipulate her situation by emphasising “African American” man was threatening (like you said) clearly demonstrates the presence of mind instead of the absence of mind, which, colloquially, is known as ‘crazy’.
It really irks / frustrates / angers / saddens me when horrible behaviour (of any sort) gets immediately labelled “crazy” or a mental health issue, instead of what it truly is. True mental health clients are more in danger from society than vice versa.
Her fake distress is chilling.
It is! And if she were so afraid, then why did she even engage in the first place?!
Shades of the trial on To Kill a Mockingbird. Could not believe my ears.
I agree that she needs to be criminally charged. She very knowingly threatened that man’s life by making a false accusation against him. She faked being distressed to make it seem like she was in harm’s way and to make it seem like he was a dangerous man. She did it very, very deliberately, very clearly letting him know that she intended to falsely accuse him.
I get the whole thing about the dog, but I’m kinda flabbergasted that so many people are so focused on the dog. This could have easily ended this man’s life.
@Josephine, yes! This man could have been in serious danger had he stayed in the park. I hate what happened to the dog but this racist trash wanted to have something happen to the guy because of his race, sickening!
What happened to that man is AWFUL, unforgivable, and needs to be addressed. What happened to that dog is also AWFUL, unforgivable, and needs to be addressed. People can be outraged by the impact on both parties equally without losing focus on the main issue of racial profiling (and I agree-it is very important to speak up and call people like this woman out). I’m also a huge animal lover and advocate (it is a major sensitivity for me), and since they don’t have a voice, I am going to take every opportunity to do it for them. I’m never going to apologize for thinking animals deserve to be treated well, and shouldn’t be a side note. But I also stand up against injustice, racism, and prejudice. Those issues are just as important to me. Absolutely ridiculous that we have to watch another video or hear another story about a crazy white woman pulling this crap.
This is infuriating.
First she IS a racist. She made a conniving attempt to weaponize the police . She made the specific threat at Mr. Cooper that she was going to report “an African American man” to the police. She then calls the police & when she wasn’t getting the appropriate response (meaning the one SHE wanted) she began elevating her voice to make it sound as if she was in eminent danger. This woman is racist trash. She should 1. Be arrested for attempting to set the police upon a black man. (Ahmaud, Emmett) 2. She should be fired & 3. The dog should not be returned to her.
This woman is an awful excuse for a human being & don’t let her pull the “scared card or mental issue card” as they are BS. She got caught & this should be hung around her neck.
I am v v sorry that this man had to endure this nonsense while he was simply trying to enjoy watching the birds in the Park.
Agree to everything you just said 100% this woman is vile and used her racism to threaten that man’s life.
Someone on Twitter pointed out that she probably stopped African Americans from being hired or promoted too. I frankly have no problem believing she would do that.
Snappyfish, yes at “Do not let her pull the mental issue card”. A 1000 times yes.
She tried to at worst get that man killed and at best ruin his life. Funny how Karma turned that around. I’m glad her life is in ruins and I hope it continues to be that way. White women can be just as dangerous as their male counterparts in different ways. Those tears are one of them. Those tears have gotten black people killed. I hope she doesn’t know peace again cause we all know what would’ve happened if that man hadn’t been able to record.
I completely agree. As I watched the video, I thought of Emmitt Till. I don’t know why. Actually, I think I do know why. He was beaten and tormented for something he didn’t do and he paid with his life. Christian Cooper could have died just as easily from a woman declaring to police she is fearful of her life and the police would have probably taken her version of the truth. I don’t know if you guys noticed but at one point of the video her dog was trying to bite her to be released. I am glad though that she was identified and the dog was surrendered. I hope that she loses her job as well. There is NO excuse for what she did. She is an evil person who deserves the karma that is coming her way.
@S808 —— 100% agree
@NatureLover —– I also thought of Emmett TIll and mentioned him below when answering a comment about how Twitter is brutal.
What happened to men like Emmett Till is brutal, what happened to her is not even Brutal; she is paying for trying to destroy another person life…………she is white; I know she will be fine; she will always find a home on Fox News
White people have weaponized the police against black people and there need to be consequences for this sh*t.
And Emmitt was just a child, 14 IIRC. Everyone knew the killers. Nobody paid.
How long until Trump justifies her reaction?
@josphine. Don’t worry if she is willing to bleach her hair and have plastic surgery he will hire her to work for Larry Kudlow.
Yup, thank god for the internet, and smart phones.
If this happened 10 or 15 years ago nobody would believe him best case, worst case could have ended very badly.
Yes thank goodness video evidence is at everyone’s pockets nowadays. this has been happening for years but the. black men were never believed. Heck even video is sometimes not enough. This woman is pure evil. How audacious do you have to be to break the rules, then threaten someone with a 911 call when you are being called out on it? She knows nothing will happen to her and he just might die even though he didn’t do anything wrong….and she is okay with that.
In the most generous reading of this (from Amy’s POV), by Christians own account, he was trying to lure her dog away from her so she was scared. Ok, well she had her dog in her control and was several feet away from Christian when the video began. Leash the dog and gtfo if you are scared. But no, she drug her dog, still unleashed, towards him and got in his face. Then continued to almost kill her dog that she was so afraid for.
He then stayed away from her, and asked her to get away from him when she got closer. How is that threatening her life?no ma’am. Nope. No. She knew exactly what she was doing.
That part is kinda weird. I don’t have a dog, and my rule is treat everyone else’s dog like it’s their child- don’t touch it without asking permission first and definitely don’t feed it! I guess he wanted to demonstrate to her that she really doesn’t have control when the dog is off leash. The way she manipulates the tone of her voice for the 911 call and throws the fake hysterics is absolutely terrifying. Evil, even. She wanted the police to harm him on her behalf.
That was the part of his behavior that initially didn’t sit well with me -You’re not going to like what I do and then calling her dog over but then she showed 100% she wasn’t remotely afraid of him. She was very clearly the aggressor.
He uses the dog treats to force dog owners to leash their dog. Most dogs aren’t trained enough to resist a treat and they will run towards it. The only way to control the dog is to leash it.
Mac..thank you for that.. Yes the very fact he had dog treats suggests he had a standard procedure for this type of thing and wasn’t legitimately threatening the dog. (Even if he had been, as others said, she had every opportunity to leave safely with her dog and honestly she wasn’t focused on her dog’s safety at all).
If he is in the dog park and I imagine plenty of dogs are unleashed, it’s smart to have some treats on hand to diffuse any tense situations if your pup is not behaving.
She should be happy that instead of kicking her dog out of the way, he was nice enough to pull out treats. If she was ever concerned about him getting tainted kibble, she should leash him. Plain and simple.
Where I live once in a while someone will leave food in dog areas that have poison in them so I wouldn’t let my dog take a treat from a stranger but I love my dog, based on how she dragged her dog I dont think she loves her dog.
If I were in that situation, my reaction would be that I had f*kd up by not leashing my dog and apologize when called out on it. And afterwards I would leave or at least leave because a stranger was trying to call my dog over and I wouldn’t know what was going to happen. My instinct would not be to escalate. This woman knew what she was doing by calling the police.
I carry treats when I go to the playground, because there are people who will let their dogs run wild and jump on my toddler. A treat usually diverts attention away.
I do not like the treat thing.
But that doesn’t make her actions ok or excusable (we’re all in agreement on that!)
And when the filming started – why did she keep approaching him!?!
Dog owners out there, please weigh in on this. I live on a corner lot coop building. The neighboring dog owners (even from our building) constantly allow their dogs to poop and pee on our grass, which kills it. I would like to sit on our small lawn and have no objection to neighbors and little kids sitting there, either. If I ask politely they look at me blankly or ignore me. One guy told me (of his little poodle) “she wanted to go there”. He also said, put up a fence, put up a sign, etc. Is it asking too much for owners to be responsible for their dogs? I suspect the idiot Karen above is of a similar (but much worse) ilk.
@Trashaddict: I own a dog and we live in a village right next to a big forest. Even when walking in the woods we pick up after our dog and carry his poop to the next poop bin even if it takes an hour. We always have at least four poop bags with us to make sure we do not have to leave anything behind. Not in residential areas, in the forest or on the fields. I can’t tell my dog where to poop, he just stops and unloads. We pick it up immediately, though. It is possible to clean up after dog, even if it’s diarrhea on a street. Disgusting but possible. Peeing is hard to control. He is not allowed to pee on somebodies lawn, cars, trash bins, benches or anything that looks like property. We try to get him to pee where it does not cause any damage. I do not need a sign to tell me that people do not want to have dog sh-t on their lawn. It is common sense. Most people in our village also pick up after their dogs. You have every right do ask dog owners to act responsibly and it really p-sses me off that some don’t.
Yes, I’m another who does the same thing with treats, Christian Cooper wasn’t doing anything unusual. And to think that this common action could have resulted in his false arrest or far worse- I know we all know this, we see this far too often, and some of you guys, worst of all, know it at a visceral level. But this is just such a glaring example of how racism destroys society, keeps people quiet, afraid to say the right thing, robs them of their rights as citizens. I hope at least that all the public support helps him feel better.
Trashaddict- I’m afraid you’re expecting too much from us city dwellers in this case, and that you’ll just end up disappointed. I’m not a New Yorker, I live in a different city- but in most cities, I’ve found, people as a whole don’t ever fully cooperate with that kind of thing. (I mean, you’ll see people everywhere using bags, but yet there’s always evidence of others who haven’t bothered.) Even on the Gold Coast here you’ll find scofflaws. A fence would probably be the best bet, but even then, some people use the enclosed grass as a sort of doggie playpen.
Of course villages or suburbs tend to be different, and Allie described them perfectly. But who needs a lawn, right? Can’t you sit out on your roof?
Maybe he intended to lead the dog to an off-leash area. I don’t really care. I strongly suspect the dog would have been much happier and healthier with him than her. My gut feeling is that she is a successful, control freak New Yorker, who adopted a dog, because that is the correct thing to do. But instead of adopting a lap dog, she adopts a spaniel, an intelligent and highly energetic working breed who has probably been bouncing off the walls since the lock-down began – if not longer. So she might have been stressed, but she was still in the wrong and she knows she is in the wrong, but clearly does not like being told off and by a black man of all people.
I’m so worried about the dog. She was choking him senseless, but they’ve been together several years and he’ll be scarred emotionally if he thinks he’s been abandoned. There’s no good answer for that poor pup.
He offered the dog a treat. Knowing it wouldn’t refuse. And knowing that no one would let their dog take a treat from a stranger. The only way to keep the dog from taking the treat is to put it on a leash.
It’s actually a quite brilliant way on his part, non violent and non confrontational, to force her to follow the leash law
It’s scary for some ppl to be in Central Park near black & brown folks- is she living in the right place ? Yes it’s scary to have your dog lured away, I might lose my mind. And lose her exterior she did—- what cracked out was a Karen, willing to place a fake distress call to the police- 99% incident to have him killed. Why? Because her whiteness does not rule the world. Gotta share Karen.
if someone I didn’t know tried to take my dog from me while saying “you’re not going to like what I do” I would be scared for my dog. So even if he was not wanting to do anything nefarious, I could see how she could be scared, in theory.
But, that being said, again, she was in control of her dog and away from him when the video started. If she was scared she should have leashed the dog and walked away. Instead she walked towards him. Her first complaint was that she was being filmed. She wasn’t scared, period. That’s what I mean by “even in the most generous reading” she’s lying in my opinion.
he said that he carries and offers dogs treats (when unleashed in that area) because it’s a surefire way to get the owners to leash the dog to prevent it from going to him. It’s a smart move TBH
@Bettyrose: I’m sure that dog is better off. People found the IG account for the dog and were sharing several posts of “accidents” he has had in the months before this incident, including one where he nearly drowned by falling into a pond. (Which wouldn’t happen if he was on a f’n leash!) I’m sure that pup will be relieved to be away from that crazy racist b.
Missmarierose
I hope the pup only knows love the rest of his days. I bet that rescue is already overwhelmed with adoption inquiries though. Hopefully the silver lining is a few more pups will get adopted too.
This is a tell tale sign of someone who is developmentally stunted and Narcissistic. She wasn’t “afraid” – she was angry she was called out for flagrantly disregarding the rules, which is why she responded the way she did, dragging the dog, throwing a fit and threatening him because she was wrong. These sorts of emotionally stunted people are terrifying – they don’t care about anyone but their own ego. She knew exactly what she was doing and didn’t care. She wanted to scare him and intimidate him because in her warped entitled brain, “how dare he hold me accountable or call me out for being the selfish brat that I am.” And of course she had to make it about race and try to get HIM in trouble -that’s peak white privilege and it’s disgusting. The man did the right thing, he held this entitled narcissistic brat accountable and she had a full blown temper tantrum. I’ve been screamed at by a few of these bullying “Karens” b/c I’ve politely asked them to use their mask in public or not reach over me at the grocery store and they have a full blown meltdown and scream and threaten me – and I’m a white woman. It’s disturbing that people like this exist. People like this person are so painfully entitled that they don’t care who they hurt or how – they will bully and abuse their privilege any way they can.
This was crazy to watch unfold. She was 100% in the wrong, but, man, Twitter is a scary place. They figured out who she was very quickly and went after her with a vengeance. I know she brought this on herself, but that was brutal. I hope the police arrest her for making a false emergency call and animal abuse.
Scary? no video or twitter is how we ended up with Emmett Till………….white women tears have been weaponized for so long; who do you think would have been believed had this not been filmed?
Brutal? it was not brutal enough; the man potentially losing his life or having a record would have been brutal!
Twitter is exactly what we need to expose the Amy Cooper’s of the world. You want to act like an ass and risk a man’s life? You get called out on Twitter.
She is a heavy social media user. She knew the video would go viral. She also pulled off her mask to give us a positive identification.
Mac, again your nuanced analysis of the video is spot on. Of course she knew what would happen with his recording…but she walked closer to it and at one point removes her mask. WTaF was her goal here?
that’s what happens when you’re an entitled Karen and you try to get a black person killed because he or she calls you out for your flouting of the rules.
it’s really easy to NOT be subject to the swift and brutal justice twitter can deliver: DON’T BE A RACIST WHO TRIES TO GET BLACK PEOPLE KILLED BY THE PO PO.
Twitter is crazy. I was reading some tweets and one of her old dog walkers commented saying her name and then boom, linked in profile, the damn dogs instagram, the instagram of the shelter where she got the dog. Like dudes, if you need a case solved just go on twitter.
Ashipper, maybe don’t refer to her job suspension, loss of dog, public disgrace, and exposure as a racist and minor criminal (making a false report) as “brutal,” when she was literally using the threat of police brutality against a black man.
Black people have been tortured, tried and sentenced on false charges, killed, raped, etc., by police, up to and including the present day, and THAT is brutal. Exposure as an awful person with video recording is no doubt sad and embarrassing for her but let’s not minimize the meaning of brutality. Especially in this context.
Twitter is not nearly as scary as having the police approach you with the assumption that you’re threatening a white, middle-age woman. I’m sorry, but wow, the “scariness” of twitter is nothing compared to the scariness of armed police under the assumption that the “victim” is terrified.
Amen.
Half ass apology
Most of the people are more worried about her chocking the dog, than about her lying to the police on a black man, because it the norm.
Not that I saw on Twitter or elsewhere last night and today – most outrage was focused on the call. But in watching the video you are literally watching a dog be hanged. It is disturbing AF so yes people are mad about that and it’s reasonable to be. Turns out this lady is deplorable on several levels.
Imagine if there were no video. Absolutely chilling.
It really is chilling, Elizabeth. Her tone was hysteric to the point where if all you had was her 911 call, you’d think he was coming at her with a weapon. Adding that tone to her initial threat to him and woof, it is just *awful*.
She needs to be fired and not allowed in a job where she hires or fires or evaluates employees. She is a proven racist and should never be allowed to oversee African American subordinate employees imagine working for her or living near her yikes.
People were saying there were stories of other incidents with the dog- if that’s true, we have a good idea what kind of boss she was. I hope that anyone who suffered under her supervision will be able to come forward now.
There is huge concern for the dog, true, but different issues:
1. Hopefully having this captured on film with no vagueness about why the woman called the cops, intending to lie by her own admission, will start to move the needle towards societal change. Let’s keep fueling the momentum sparked by the outrage over this incident, happening within hours of a copy murdering a Black man in Minnesota.
2. The dog, when the story first broke, was not yet safe, so immediate concern for the dog was also justified.
She was so scared that she walked towards him and menacingly pointed her finger at him whilst threatening him…hmmm. Sure, Jan.
I would just like to point out that, as a white woman myself, I wouldn’t have even thought to mention it was an AA man in my conversation. No, that’s purely from her own knowledge that she could use that as a weapon. The fact that she thought that she was okay to use that as a weapon (when she was being bloody filmed too) points to her…racism, her white privilege which people fall over themselves to say doesn’t exist. Exhibit A!
So fuck off Amy with your half arsed apology.
No one (at least those who aren’t also raging racists) gives a shit that your life is ruined. YOU were quite happy to try and ruin a man’s life to cover you breaking the rules and getting caught. Don’t cry over being called out for it.
Her, and her ilk, make me fucking rage.
Rae: she mentioned he was AA not once, but twice. If I’m truly scared for my life, I’m not wasting time with all those extra words.
She’s clearly hoping she’s got a white cop who will come save from the big black man.
@Rapunzel and @Jellybean. Agree with you both.
She knew what she was doing. It makes that shitty apology even more galling.
Meanwhile, the FBI is investigating the murder of an unarmed black man by police in Minnesota.
She knew exactly what she was doing.
I think it was calculated. I don’t think it was casual racism, I think she knew exactly what she was doing.
Oh for sure it was calculated, she was threatening him with telling the cops Specifically there’s an African American man threatening her, she wanted him to be scared for his life and remind him of his “place”. Her voice even got more hysterical as the conversation went on with the police. She’s a twisted racist bitch and she’s getting exactly what she deserves.
YES! If she had just kept describing his as AA, I would say she was a racist. But this is worse. She is racist, sure. But she also was basically looking right at him and threatening him with his skin color. She all but said “I am a rich white woman and I will report you, an african american man, to the cops and you will then have a problem. ” (jail, death all because he had the “nerve” to tell her to leash her dog)
Sounds like something this Amy has done before…
She didn’t just mention it…she told him first that she planned to do it. She knew *exactly* what she was suggesting. I do hope she gets charged with filing a false report. There are so many things wrong with this incident. It’s not your 2019 Becky story. It’s full 2020 Karen.
The NYPD #2 already said they weren’t going to charge her. They said the DA won’t prosecute. Really?
I agree, Rae.
Textbook Karen. She would not have done this to a white man asking her to leash her dog. The very fact she warns him, “I’m gonna call the police” is chilling. She’s fully aware that is a threat. She intended bad things to happen to him. All because he asked her to leash her dog according to the signs. Notice also how she told him the section not requiring a leash was “too dangerous.” Let me guess, Karen: it’s too dangerous cause there’s more black men?
And he’s threatening her life… while recording it for evidence? Puh-leze. The fact she asked him to stop recording shows she knew she was about to do something on camera she didn’t want recorded. Yet she did it anyway.
Yes, exactly. her behavior was deplorable for all the reasons you mentioned. I feel like when say “what makes someone a Karen???” we just need to bring up this story.
With a white guy she would have said, “Oh, fuck off,” and gone on her merry way.
Glaring Cluster B personality disorders, these Karens.
According to her he was screaming, threatening her, and she was scared. Yet video shows HER with a raised voice, her advancing on him even as he backs off and tells her please stay back, and she’s the one with holding a leashed dog for protection. Then she has to make it clear to him that she’s calling the police and talking about his race.
Then she wants to say he was the aggressor here?! Cluster B. These people need help, but there is absolutely no excuse for this behavior. Let it be a warning to others who think the police is some secret KKK they can call when they have any issue or problem with a person of color. Hell no the police are not there to make sure you always feel superior and they are not there to be used as a threat against people like this.
I really appreciate how you identify the personality disorder/mental health issue without making it into an excuse. I mean, psychopaths can kill because of their psychopathy. We still put them in jail. BUT it would be much better if more attention was brought to these disorders so they can be identified in the early stages. That way the person gets help for their disorder and the rest of society doesn’t have to deal with their outbursts. This woman is not a good person. But there may actually be some treatment for people like her in the future. Clearly, it is in the best interest of our species if we find a way to treat her and everyone like her.
Thanks Nic. Sadly I have experience, my mother is a Cluster B person.
Having someone be aggressive, freak out and then accuse the person they just freaked out on of victimizing them? Yup. Sounds like the whole childhood of myself and my siblings. Having a parent like this is a huge thing to overcome, but in the overcoming of it we end up with deeper understandings of how these people operate. And we learn to see right through this crap.
if you look at the screen shots that were posted from her IG (before she made that private), she’s posted multiple incidents with the dog being in danger which led people to contact the rescue to indicate there’s a concern she’s abused of the dog to get attention – how she handled the dog (choking it holding it’s collar instead of leashing it) was just the icing on the cake for the rescue to get her to surrender the dog back to them while they investigate. Between the IG posts of the dog being in danger and how she quickly escalated this to calling the police to say an AA man was threatening her life, a very clear picture emerges of this woman. Has he not video’d her, you know she would have created a huge uproar with her lie of being threatened by a dangerous AA man in the park
Until the police start issuing citations and making arrests for this kind of false claim it is going to continue happening. Not sure this is any different than Swatting. It needs to be punished the same way
Exactly. They have a black police NYPD second-in-command making a proclamation about how horrible this is but they aren’t talking about charging her. I care about actions from those in power who can stop these behaviors. Those people want to make speeches but not do the hard work to stop micro-aggressions. I’m so close to being done.
Seriously. She called 911 during a pandemic because a guy told her to follow the leash laws. FFS, charge her with something.
Agree! Prosecute her.
Also her saying “I’m not a racist”…. NO. A racist thinks to call out the race of a man with whom she’s having a conflict. A person who is not a racist would simply never do this.
It’s like when people get drunk and a bunch of horrible, racist shit spews forth from them. Then they sober up and say it’s because they were drunk. NO. People who aren’t racist don’t say racist shit under any circumstance. People who ARE racist start to pull that vile shit out in times of stress or lowered inhibition. You’re a racist, lady.
Piratewench- called his race out not once, but twice. Twice. With sudden hysteria in her voice.
Polite racism is darkly sadistic. “I’m not racist but…” is how it starts. Always ends w a justification.
she’s sad cause this blew up and she got caught and it has “ruined her life” stfu amy cooper. you just tried to “ruin” and potentially harm, or get an innocent man via police because she’s to irresponsible to put a leash on her dog. ughhh white woman fragility. she should be arrested
I am so glad both the man and dog are safe and are Ok. Speechless also at her terrible non-apology. Even if he was trying to give treats to her dog, it was to leash the dog according to park protocol. Her ‘fear’ is her own projection of racism and her downplaying her own evil actions (the call and lying to the police) is something else. She is still trying to paint her self as a victim – which is typical Karen. She didn’t care about ruining his life by calling the police and starting this whole situation. It is all on her when all she had to do was put the dog on a leash or just leave the place. In reality, the man was 1000 in a more dangerous position than her after the call. Thank goodness he made a video and released it. Ah she is VP of the company – hmmm wonder if they will fire her.
This. That was disturbing on so many levels.
I have had dozens (hundreds) of confrontations with people walking their dogs, illegally, in city parks. Off-leash dog walkers behavior escalates unbelievably quickly. This looks totally familiar to me.
I foster a lot, so I only walk in on-leash areas, during on-leash hours. I want to avoid unfamiliar dogs having uncontrolled interactions. I’m trying to socialize my foster in a positive manner. These are typically dogs who are usually working through an active respiratory disease and/or recovering from surgery, so it isn’t safe for anyone. Illegally off-leash dogs make the parks miserable. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been SCREAMED at and threatened after politely asking someone to please leash their dog so I could walk by them. It can really ruin your day.
The owners doing this already know that they’re doing something illegal, endangering others, damaging the environment, etc.. and they want to do it anyway. They’re awful. I really think these are people who want a fight with humans if they can’t start a dog fight.
It is a certain personality type. I haven’t had race come into play, that I recall, but I’ve had other baseless and potentially dangerous false accusations made against me/my dogs and people threaten to assault me or my dog. It is incredibly common and my least favorite thing about the city. Once in a blue moon the police will go out and wright a few citations, but not enough. Maybe this incident will bring a little attention to it.
I’ve also had ongoing issues with a certain personality type that feels entitled to let his or her dog off leash where it ain’t appropriate.
In the woods I’ve had big dogs rush my little children, in places clearly marked that dogs should be on a leash. I’ve gotten responses such as “he’s friendly!” “Don’t worry!”
And I say it’s not for you to tell me not to worry when your 90 pound beast rushes my small child. People get really really confrontational and aggressive when asked to follow the leash law. They believe they and their dog are exceptional and shouldn’t have to follow any rules.
This behavior has literally driven me out of many walking paths and natural areas, which become overrun with entitled people letting dogs run free. I also personally have some nervous feelings with dogs, having been bitten by two “good, family” dogs as a child, both times unprovoked. I don’t trust your dog, Karen! Because I don’t even know your dog! The leash laws are there for a reason.
“He’s friendly” is almost universally the first sentence in their confrontation script. I cringe when I hear that. When someone is doing an illegal act, they are displaying that they’re a dishonest person! Why would I take them at their word about their dog’s behavior? I hate it.
The list of reasons to leash dogs in public is endless…even if the dog is incredibly friendly. Most people, and dogs, don’t like being ambushed by unknown animals. Even if they do, the people will start worrying “is this dog lost?” and it adds some stress to their day. A lot of people are very allergic to dog, even if they like them, and it puts them in a bad position. A lot of people are trying to teach their kids to safely interact with dogs and that can be a setback.
The off leash dog could be dognapped, eat something poisonous (the city parks have rat bait stations all over the place) or unhealthy, startle a mentally ill person who responds aggressively, startle a dog who responds aggressively. Even in the off leash sanctioned areas, where all dogs are presumed to be dog-social, there are dog fights every single day.
It is just so reckless to the enjoyment and safety everyone involved
I live among the whitest most entitled – a Republican ski town. No masks no leashes & am one of 2 WOC for an hundred miles.
So-called — you are probably my neighbor. I’m in Western Colorado.
I hate when people are like my dog is friendly when they’re doing this kind of stuff. She’s a smaller very cute dog, so people assume she’s going to be friendly and think I should be cool and don’t understand when I give them a wide berth. You don’t know my dog and I don’t know yours and quite frankly I don’t want to deal with how my dog is going to react to the situation.
She is extremely friendly with people, not always with other dogs. She is overprotective of me and can act like a real jack hole when another dog comes into a situation, especially if it’s bigger then her. She’s fine in doggie daycare though, even in big dog sections when I’m not there. It’s how I realized what the real issue was.
So yeah, when we go off leash, I make sure absolutely no one is around. I’m hyper vigilant about what is going on and the moment I see someone else, dog or no, I leash her and we leave the area. I go out of my way to find areas that her being off leash shouldn’t be an issue,
and would never have her off leash where people are enjoying the area. And if for some reason I were to ignore a sign, if someone else showed up and pointed it out to me, I would be like oh yeah, sorry I wasn’t thinking, leash my dog and be on my way embarrassed, but not trying to call the cops.
@Jaxonmeh dogs shouldn’t be off leash unless it is in an off leash area, at the right times. Making sure “no one is around” isn’t enough. What if a jogger comes around the corner? What if another dog comes out of no where and your dog chases it and children are somewhere you don’t have a visual of? Watch for the signs, because 99.9% of them are clearly visible. Saying you will leash your dog and leave the area isn’t a solution, it is part of the problem.
I had a woman take her very large, poorly controlled dogs into a public basketball court and tie the gate shut with a leash during peak hours (right after school let out). She didn’t notice the kid climbing the fence inside, and one of her dogs jumped at the boy (maybe 4 years old) and dragged him down. It was awful, and we couldn’t get in because of the leash. Luckily, the boy wasn’t badly hurt, but the police came and took the dog away.
That is HORRIBLE! What on earth is WRONG with people?
Guys I have to admit when I first got my puppy I was guilty of this, I was stupid and madely in love with him and thought other people think hes just as cute as I do. I was stupid and wrong, a woman in my building asked me to leash him bc she was scared of dogs and I always did after that. I was 100% wrong, even tho he was just a little puppy pug you never know about peoples fears, allergies etc. So I apologize of behalf of all dumb new dog owners.
I will be so happy when Drumpf is voted out of office. We have seen a tremendous decline in people being less confrontational and are openly accounting POC because that tub of lard is in the WH. We have stepped back at least 40+ years in regards to racism and the openness of white people attacking POC and Asians , as they are to blame for COVID 19. I am so sick of the divide that has been created just so Drumpf can reign supreme as a dictator and not an actual president. The FBI statistics are heartbreaking.
https://www.statista.com/chart/16100/total-number-of-hate-crime-incidents-recorded-by-the-fbi/
You do know she’s a democrat?
She’s a Liberal. Branch Bernardian possibly. Still a racist, and that is what we’re discussing here.
You know, these freaking privileged ass people just get me going….yeah, she’s a g-d racist…for sure, no questions asked. I hope she’s fired and I’m glad that dog was taken away and I hope that poor man understands that not all white women are like that pos.
And these people that run around with their dogs off-leash are infuriating. As an avid trail runner, probably once every six months I come across a sniffling human asking for help on the trails looking for their dog, because they let it run around unleashed and he/she is now missing, or a see a local story where an unleashed dog has bit another dog (or person) or I’ve felt personally intimidated while I was running or walking by an unleashed dog (and before people start in I’ve got 3 dogs of my own)…leash your f#$king dogs…or move to a f#$king 30 acre farm in the country. People think their dogs are so well behaved, well, I’m sorry but they are still an animal and can turn at any minute because they are an ANIMAL. This man had every right in the world to ask this b!tch to put her dog on the leash. This is one of my many pet peeves right now, pardon the pun.
This. I’m a life long dog owner of well trained dogs and almost everyone with unleashed dogs will say O but he/she is so friendly. That’s after their dog has run up on us. Stupid ass fools.
Yep. I used to be a runner and this was my worse fear. One time, an idiot let a Doberman off its leash right on the outdoor track i ran on. It’s enraging, because in our society you have to love dogs. Well, I don’t. A very, VERY bad childhood experience, sue me. I don’t love them. Your dog is not an exception. Keep it leashed. And most of these people know exactly what they’re doing. They like it. We all view things through our own personal experiences and lenses, and this is a hot button thing for me.
The past few years I switched to cycling and one of the nicest things about it is I don’t worry about dogs anymore. They’re still unleashed all over the bike paths and parks, but I can go faster than they can, and I can definitely go faster than the nearest runner.
Learning how to read a dog might help you with overcoming fear. You do not have to love them but it will make life easier.
‘… but I can go faster than they can, and I can definitely go faster than the nearest runner.’
Ha ha, good one.
In our current culture, I’m sure she can get a job at the White House or have Matt Lauer’s people hook her up with an op-we.
Good idea. I think Pompeo is looking for a new dog walker!
People that don’t put their dogs on a leash infuriate me. I almost ran over a sweet little puppy just yesterday because the irresponsible owner didn’t have him/her on a leash. Oh and Amy is a horrible person.
What the hell is wrong with people?
Is she a complete asshole, racist tool, over entitled empty headed twit?
All of the above.
She should be charged with wasting police time at minimum.
The evil of people just never stops. You know what you’re doing when you’re calling the cops on a black person, specifically when you mention that the person is black and that you are scared. You can no longer exist in this world and claim ignorance about that. I’m glad she lost her job, but people should start to feel legal consequences when making these reports.
This video was distribing on so many levels: I actually got chills when she calmly said “I will call the police and tell them you are threatening me”, when he is doing nothing of the kind, and then, seconds later, is almost hysterical as she tells the police she and her dog are being threatened by an African-American man. Meanwhile, that poor dog is being choked and dragged by his owner. This man could have been injured or killed simply because this woman decided the rules, which were publicly posted, didn’t apply to her and someone called her out on it.
Paying big fat fines is a great motivator.
White people know damn well what can happen to POC when the police are called on them. Therefore, calling them over anything less than an actual crime or potentially violent incident is an act of violence itself. It’s an intentional threat against their life. Don’t ever let the tears or somebody like this fool you, particularly when it’s so evident she was weaponizing them to get a specific police response. Don’t feel bad for somebody’s career getting ruined when they were perfectly content with potentially ruining or outright ending his.
So well put. You’re correct on every angle here.
“calling them over anything less than an actual crime or potentially violent incident is an act of violence itself.”
So well said!!!!!
ENOUGH.
glad they took the dog.
racist trick. GTFOH.
She is one of us, originally from Canada got her first degree from University of Waterloo and her Master’s from the University of Chicago. She has no right to try to harm the Harvard graduate.
She should be deported back to Canada.
Leashed dogs can exercise too. What a dumb woman.
Ok, the dog should have been leashed. She should have complied when she was asked. But….what I don’t understand is the way he approached the situation by saying “You aren’t going to like what Im going to do” then proceeded to call the dog over. That honestly sounded threatening like he may harm the dog. I’m confused about what he was trying to accomplish. Why be weird about it? He could have just called the cops on her. Idk, just sharing another perspective. I don’t agree with her before anyone accuses me of sticking up for a racist white woman.
Stop expecting POC to behave “perfectly” to be legit. (Perfect of course means by your standards). All you’re doing here is looking for a reason to justify Karen’s behavior. It’s “whataboutism” and it’s not useful. It the same thing that happens when women’s dress is used against them in rape cases.
Nah. Go ahead and reread if you are confused.
No confusion here. I’ll answer your question. He was trying to get her to put a leash on the dog. That’s what this entitled Karen wouldn’t like. Being made to comply. Have you seriously never met a Karen before?
He did threaten her. He said “you’re not going to like what I’m going to do.” But, that’s not why she called 911. She didn’t place a 911 call that said “A man is threatening to do something I don’t like if I refuse to leash my dog, and I can’t leash my dog because…???” 911 is there for EMERGENCIES where they have to walk people through CPR. What did she need the 911 operator to help with in that scenario “Ok! Are you listening? I need you to follow these instructions: First. Clip the leash onto your dog’s collar.” And she would have responded “Ok I did that. Now I’m hanging the dog and it is flailing around struggling to breathe.” “Maam, I need you to pay close attention. Put the dog down on the ground. Yes. All four paws touching the ground.” “Ohhhh…it’s working!” “Good, Maam. Walk away now.” Crisis resolved. What she was doing was revenge because she didn’t like being called out.
There was nothing threatening about that man or what he said. Amy Cooper was a threat to him and to her dog.
We’re in a global pandemic in one of the hardest-hit cities in America; I am sure the police have better things to do. Not even better. This was a pointless waste of their time, a waste of the 911 dispatcher’s time, just an all around waste of everyone’s time.
She shouldn’t have complied “when he asked”. She should never have taken the dog off the leash. Stop trying to put this on him. People have food in parks all the time, including dog treats. If your dog isn’t disciplined enough to avoid treats, or someone calling them over, they shouldn’t be off a leash. Probably why there’s a leash rule in the first place. This guy is probably sick of [white] people breaking the rules about leashes just because they feel like it, so he came up with a good work-around. Why would a black man in this country want to call the police in his confrontation with a white person?
as has been noted/theorized above, the man did that to demonstrate how easy it is for a person to lure an unleashed dog over to them if the person has treats (most dogs, except the most well trained, will not refuse a treat). he was bird-watching, yet he had treats…this means that it’s a tactic he’s used before to school owners of unleashed pets. (also, possibly, he carries treats to show off-leash dogs he encounters that he’s friendly so they won’t attack.) he was showing the woman one of the reasons WHY dogs are supposed to be leashed. by OFFERING A TREAT. doesn’t seem very “threatening like he might harm the dog” to me.
regardless of your “wondering”, your post comes off as defending the racist.
She tried to get him killed. “Sharing another perspective” is just deflecting from the main point.
Shortly after she was harming the dog herself…
If you’re a woman who doesn’t want potential confrontation by adult men in public, don’t do potentially dangerous illegal shit in public areas. I don’t know why that keeps getting overlooked that he may have very well been attacked by a dog previously and was nervous himself.
Ugh this was awful to watch. I hate that she was more apologetic about the dog than the human being she almost killed. I hate that she still can’t admit she is racist and she has a lot of work to do. White people still have so much work to do.
Not only did she put his life in danger, but since they had both left by the time police got there, she put the lives of every other black guy in the vicinity in danger.
I hadn’t considered that — there is so much gross to this entire story and you just added a very valid element. The ripples of her actions could have had even more serious consequences.
WORD UP.
I can not stand dog owners that don’t follow the law ! “Oh he’s friendly don’t worry!”. Ummm no. Some of us don’t want your dog jumping on us and licking our legs ok? Some dog owners really think they are something special. Follow the damn rules !
What a dumb b*tch. She could have got that innocent man killed !
Funny how she whines about her “life being destroyed”, but isn’t that exactly what she was hoping would happen to this man by lying about him threatening her life?! She’s getting exactly what she deserves! I get where he’s coming from because I’m an avid bird watcher as well.
Just gonna go out on a limb here and say this is more in the realm of psychopathy than Karen, but do you, Internet.
Well, I do think Karens are some sick trash.
The amount of rage I had yesterday when I saw this video! Ugh…I can’t even explain how it feels to hear her voice go up and act hysterical on the phone with 911 as if she was in danger. It’s infuriating to say the least. This crap has been happening for so long and I’m just glad we have the technology to film these racists. I’m also glad HER name was (and still is) trending on Twitter and not his. Usually when a black man’s name is trending in a situation like this, it’s because we’re mourning.
Let’s all pause for a moment to give thanks for the fact that New York is not an open carry state and this woman did not have a firearm.
jaysus…I read this and got chills. you ain’t kidding. if this was FL or some other azz-backwards state, he’d be dead. “I WAS STANDING MY GROUND, OFFICER!”
Oh God that is so true and she would have cried a river of tears about why it was his fault
WORD UP.
There is so much here
Woman walking alone in the Ramble. Not smart, so I can understand why she would be on edge and over react.
Unleashed dog. Always indefensible.
A man telling a lone woman he is going to do something to her she “won’t like”. Its thrratening language and youre all lying if you say that wouldnt have scared you. Why is he offering the dog a treat? Just walk away.
Usually it is the person telling other people to leash their dogs who is accused of being the Karen.
Calling the cops was ridiculously over reactive. Just walk away. So much drama.
We’re weaponizing social media. This woman, at least in this situation, is unlikeable but has done nothing to warrant losing her job. If she wants to be a biddy on her own time whatever that has nothing to do with her job performance
So glad I got out of NYC.
I’m glad this racist POS was put on administrative leave. I hope she gets fired. She showed her true RACIST horrible self!
Nope. Nope. Nope. His action was smart. He didn’t approach her or the dog. She would have had to leash the dog to stop it from going toward the treat. He kept his distance. Knowing how much of an ass she was, his making her leash the dog via treat is what she won’t like. There was nothing threatening in his voice. It’s more the voice a manager uses before he throws the Let me speak to the manager Karen out of the store. She tried to have him killed. I don’t give a shit about her temporary inconvenience. No I’m not exaggerating. She lied to the cops, faked screaming. She was trying to get this uppity black man lynched.
She didn’t seem threatened when she charged at him as he was asking her to stay away from him.
Galina- she clearly wasn’t scared, so GTFOH with your he was threatening her nonsense. He pulled out dog treats… it was clear he was just trying to force her to leash the dog. She stormed towards him, pointing her finger and scolding him for taping her. Then stood there trying to get him to back down by saying she was gonna call the police. A truly scared woman wouldn’t have done any of that.
Also… if this was a white man, she certainly wouldn’t have called the cops, and if she had, she wouldn’t have repeatedly said ” a white man is threatening me.”
This woman could’ve just been a racist white chick alone and scared of a black man at the park, but if she was, she’d have run away.
Instead, she’s a racist white chick who knows white cops will believe that a black man is a threat to a white woman, and used that to attempt to punish/possibly kill a man for wanting her to follow the rules. She went from angry to hysterical in two seconds while calling the cops. It was an act meant to terrorize a black man for no good reason.
Your comment is so messed up, dude.
You “understand” why she would be on edge… about walking around an area no one forced her to go into? So she could engage in activities (dog off leash) she didn’t want anyone else to see?
It’s not “threatening language” in context. They were having a discussion about her transgressions. You can’t remove statement from their context and go, “that’s a threat!” They were discussing her unleashed dog and he was proving she had no control over it. That’s IT.
And WHY should he walk away? She was at fault. She was refusing to admit it. Her actions were ruining his attempts to enjoy the area for its intended purpose. Were the treats a petty move? Yes, and I applaud him for it. More people need to be shown how flaunting the rules can have a terrible outcome. A stranger feeding your dog treats is the least terrible of those outcomes, but her panic proves she did not believe until that moment that actions can have consequences.
Admit it: if he’d been a little old white lady played by Maggie Smith, you’d be applauding her, too. Your problem is not his actions, it’s who he is while he performs them. And she tried to use that against him — possibly to the point of severe harm. If you can listen to her phone call and her repeated use of “African American,” and look at the stats of who ends up dying at the hands of cops in this country, and deem her just “unlikeable?” Then I don’t know what to say to you.
I don’t think you understand why people are saying she is being Karen. I don’t think you understand the seriousness of her racist actions. It comes across as you minimizing what she is doing here…using the police as her personal defenders. A black man was killed in MN just the week by police, we still have the issue with Ahmaud we still have residual effects of Breyonna’s murder by police. What this woman did was not ok. The man in this video is a bird watcher. He has treats for when people with unruly dogs or dogs not on collars are around. It’s a protective technique that lots of walkers/bird watchers/etc use when they are out. He was not wrong to politely ask her to leash her dog. She was breaking a law by not having her dog leashed, she was breaking the law by calling the police and lying but you know….it’s best to blame him over her actions.
Quit pretending this was nothing more than a mix-up, so go about your day.
I live in a different country, and I know she was trying to get him killed. If I knew he was at risk of dying if the cops showed, that racist animal abusing piece of filth knew it too. Why are you defending this? SHE TRIED TO GET HIM KILLED.
I think your comment is as much an over statement as her reaction was over the top. I’m not defending her and find her actions despicable but c’mon to say she was trying to get him killed.
No.
Lady D’s comment is not “much” of an overstatement.
It is spot on.
Her actions had a very high possibility of getting him killed.
She wouldn’t have cared about the consequences of her actions, whatever they might have been. Other possible scenarios of how this could have played out IS being played out, to other POC all over America and the world.
So she knows.
And she doesn’t care.
So. GTFOH with your comment
The Karen Defense Brigade from Moscow has arrived.
Again with this? What she was trying to do should not be dismissed as just being a biddy, or twisted to make her the victim. She was being racist. She brought these consequences on herself.
@Anon: I think you may be right. This is the third time.
What is wrong with some people? She’s giving Caucasians a bad name!!!! You cannot make up lies, and then just think it’s okay to apologize, and that’s it. I feel she should be ashamed of herself and her actions. Plus, she should be ashamed of herself for being a RACIST!!!!! Shame on her!!!
Wtf, why does she keep insisting he’s an ‘African American man’ on the 911 call!? She also threatened him she would say so before even calling them!!! Let’s suppose she did feel unsafe – his race is irrelevant. If it was a white man, would she describe him as Caucasian to 911 too? That was so unnecessary and makes her nasty, racist and murderous intentions clear as day.
No pity for this horrible woman.
I’m not even a dog person,and even I was like, damn she should be in jail! I bet she gets fired because what that entitled woman did was inexcusable and racist.
I carry treats for unleashed dogs and I will sure as shit use them if you refuse to leash your dog while I have any of mine out and about. Any unleashed dogs that get anywhere near mine are called over with a treat and then leashed with one of the disposable leashes I carry. I have pitties with varying levels of dog tolerance and I’m not taking a single damn chance with a rude-ass, unleashed dog (or kid, ever since a toddler ran over and slapped one across the muzzle with all her little strength.) People get PISSED but since I’m a white woman nobody has ever thought to call the cops or accuse me of “threatening” their dogs for calling them over. I can’t imagine how threatened this man ACTUALLY felt for simply telling this entitled ass to follow the damn rules!
I hate this that I’m saying this. I hate that I’m saying this. I hate that I’m saying this.
If someone said to me, “Look, if you’re going to do what you want, then I’m going to do what I want and you’re not gonna like it”, I’d consider that a threat. Just reading it made me uncomfortable. Trust, if this situation gets any bigger, his admission to saying that will probably come back to bite him in the butt.
This is not to defend whatsherface, she’s trash and absolutely weaponized her whiteness. Christian being African-American should not have had any relevance in this situation. She really tried to use it against him. If her dog would have died from her choking it out, she probably would have blamed Christian.
Just to add extra insult to injury, I hope she gets a fat citation for not leashing her dog.😀
Ugh- that admission will not come back to bite him in the butt. Because he has video proving that she was threatening him and he was asking her to stay away. And he has video of her clearly not being scared, but warning him she was gonna weaponize her tears by calling the police. And he has video of her going from outraged to terrified in 2 seconds… proving she was just acting.
I think she panicked at the end once she realized she f-cking strangled her dog and that really gave her voice that extra terror she needed to make her fake call convincing.
He did not threaten her. Giving treats to her dog so it can be leashed is not a threat against her or the animal. Breaking the law at a public park has consequences and those were the consequences. She was not willing to accept it and therefore turned nasty, racist and murderous on him. Lying to the police and claiming you’re in danger (never mind the ulterior race angle) is also breaking a crime. Then there’s the fact she was choking her dog therefore endangering it herself and committed a crime against the animal. Again, this woman committed all the crimes here. And he did not do or say anything that justifies all those crimes being broken.
I agree, I would have felt threatened, too, and then gotten my dog on leash and walked off. It just sounded weird. Of course, it does not justify any of this lady’s behaviour.
We aren’t privy to the tone he was using or his body language, only the text, so keep that in mind when you read it. Even if I read it that way, the smart thing to do is leash the dog, pull out your phone, tell him that you’re leaving, and if he makes a move after you, you’ll consider it threatening because THAT would signal escalation.
The problem with any argument trying to paint her sympathetic is that *she is the one who escalates it.* She is the one who charges at him. She’s the one who said she was calling the police and emphasizes his race as she does so, revealing that she quite clearly knows exactly what she’s doing and how dangerous that would be TO HIM. Moreover – you don’t like confrontation with adult men in public? Don’t break the f*cking law in a public area in a way that puts other people in danger.
And frankly, as somebody who was once bitten by a dog the owner wasn’t controlling? For nothing more than WALKING past them? I’d view a dog as a danger to me and my person, and I don’t have a problem with people calling those owners out or taking steps to protect themselves. Your dog is a predatory animal. It is a potential weapon, and people who don’t respect that reality are irresponsible and dangerous. There’s a lot of focus on his maleness to her femaleness in examining that potential threat but very little in the way of pointing out that *she has a possible weapon already.*
Well, he threatened her with something she ‘would not like’. That could be something as insignificant as name-calling… or offering her dog some treats. I hardly think it rises to the legal standard (any NY attorneys, please correct if I’m wrong).
Again, I’m going to be harsh. Thank God Twitter went nuts. She had her phone and used it as a weapon. It’s okay for her to feign distress in order to have a black man arrested? People like her need to pay, and they need to do it in a variety of ways. They need ticketing. Lawyer fees. Job and income loss. They need to suffer in ways they’ve never had to because this suffering has been the plight for people of color for FOREVER. When shit like this happens, it hurts families, children at school, friends, neighbors, communities…there’s no quantifying pain and suffering. And it’s soulful pain. So yeah, drag this bitch for each and every drop of blood.
Amy Cooper is no better than the woman who lied to police on Emmitt Till, a 14 year old boy. She knew what her words would do. She knew they would send the police into a frenzy to protect the poor, defenseless white woman from the big, bad African American man. I’m glad the rescue got the dog back. From all of the posts on the dog’s IG, it seems like she was harming him for attention. I hope he is adopted by a lovely family and forgets his 3 years with that batshit crazy, racist chick.
Thank you for the Cavalier photos!
I would comment on the story, but I am too tired of these stupid, racist Karens. Just so damn tired.
This is horrifying, I couldn’t even finish the video. This woman is absolutely a racist piece of trash, I’m glad she lost her dog. I will be contacting her company to pressure them to fire her, no one who wishes harm on an innocent black man deserves to work.
As a resident of NYC and the owner of a dog that requires about 2 hours of intense exercise daily, I am sympathetic to her plight about how difficult it is to find a place isolated enough to get the dog exercise in a way that allows the dog and the owner to maintain a safe social distance from other dogs and NY’ers. That being said, I know the place he was telling her to go and it’s perfectly safe. The only reason she deemed it not safe is because she is representative of a lazy type of dog owner who fails to do their basic duty of properly training their dog to respond to commands. I’ve trained dozens of dogs over the years (some mine, but most that belonged to my friends) and it is entirely possible to train a damn off-leash cocker spaniel to not run off in the expanse that is Central Park. You just have to take the time you would normally dedicated to throwing temper tantrums at African-American men asking you to follow the rules and rededicate that time to training your dog. Sigh.
I think another issue is because that particular part of Central Park is specifically set aside for bird watching, and an off-leash dog can not only disturb other people, but I think this man is a pretty serious bird watcher, and even an extremely polite off-leash dog very much disturbs the birds. He was just trying to have a nice day and watch some damn birds and her dog was more important than another human. I enjoy my dogs, I do love them, but they aren’t more important than humans, I’m sorry, they just aren’t.
@Mellie, I literally never said dogs are more important than humans. Nor did I at any point say that she was justified in having the dog off the leash in an area of the park where it’s clearly not allowed. Once again, what I said is that this woman probably took her dog here because there are a lot of formations that can constrict the movement of a dog in the same way as a fence in a dog run can. So if you have a dog that doesn’t respond to your commands, you can find areas in the ramble where there’s no risk of them running too far away from you. Central Park has designated off-leash hours that are actually quite generous and you can let dogs off the leash in large swaths of the park. The only problem is that those areas tend to be wide open spaces. It’s not a problem to let a well-trained dog off the leash during designated times in such spaces because the second you want the dog to do something, you can command the dog to respond appropriately to whatever situation they find themselves in. She said it’s not “safe” for him elsewhere in the Park, meaning she can’t be arsed to train her dog in such a way that would allow her to take the dog off-leash and let him run around in areas of the park where it’s permitted. If she were a responsible dog owner, trained the dog appropriately, and bothered to look up the rules for dogs in the Park, this never would have happened.
Maybe you shouldn’t have a dog that requires intense exercise if you can’t give the dog that without breaking rules or endangering others. I live in the country and we have a neighbor who lets her German shepherds roam free and the police do nothing.
@Elizabeth, I don’t know if you’re trying to shame me for the type of dog I have and that I let her off the leash, but please do know this, but it is possible to have a dog that requires intense exercise in the City without breaking “the rules.” You can have a dog off leash in most parts of Central Park as long as it’s before the hours of 9am or after the hours of 9pm. Most parks in the City have similar off-leash hours. I get up at 5am to exercise with my dog and to make sure that I’m in compliance with all City laws and regulations. Because Mr. Cooper was urging her to go elsewhere in the Park where her dog could be off the leash, I assumed that incident occured during designated off-leash hours, but just in an area of the Park that is always excluded from off-leash hours (all dogs must always be leashed in this area of the Park as dogs in the past have been disruptive to the birds or have actually killed birds there).
So while I’m sorry that your neighbor is flouting rules, do know that it’s not always considered “breaking the rules” to let a dog off the leash in the City. I know you’re not from here so you wouldn’t necessarily know the ins and outs of life in NYC.
That was intended as a general statement, Yas, not directed at you. My apologies as I can see it wasn’t clear.
Thank you for being conscientious as a dog owner!
Oh Yas, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for you to take it that way. I was just explaining what I knew about the bird watching area of the park and then I went off on my own little tangent about humans vs dogs! So sorry. This issue made me so mad today.
No worries! I understand. This was a very intense situation and I think it really makes folks, including myself, emotional. I didn’t mean to get defensive, but seeing people be shitty dog owners makes it tough for those of us who are passionate and responsible dog owners.
And that’s not even adding the unapologetic racism and racism apology tour (“I know I did this racist thing, but I’m not racist, CNN!!”) and white fragility she displayed – truly grotesque.
Karen deserves everything she gets. Her being fired is the least. She should be charged. These people need to know that were not going to take their abuse anymore.
NYPD chalked it up to a verbal dispute, but the way she was choking that dog she should be charged with animal abuse. I really hope this isn’t another case of her going radio silent waiting for it to blow over and she gets rewarded with her not being fired and getting her dog back.
Karen’s need to punished like everyone else. You can’t hide behind white privilege to intimidate POC into backing down for YOUR bad behavior.
I really dont understand why people are so defensive when they get called out for being in the wrong. When my pug was a puppy I stupidly let him run around in the lobby of my apartment building bc I thought he was so cute I thought everyone else would feel the same way. A neighbor told me dogs scared her and asked to me to leash him or carry him ( he was like 15 pounds). I felt so bad bc I honestly didnt think it was a big deal but I wasn’t putting myself in someone else’s shoes, I always had him on leash after that. How many times have I been driving and someone cuts me off and gives me the finger. Or parents arguing with teachers bc the teachers are obviously lying about their kids behavior. It’s not just the Karen’s who dont take ownership of their bad behavior it’s the everyone. Prime example, the people who refuse to wear masks bc it encroaches on their “freedom”.
Amy Cooper is a racist loon, full stop. She behaves like someone used to attacking others routinely. Apparently she holds a high position at Franklin Templeton–I wonder if her employees suffer from this kind of vicious intimidation? I bet their HR director was thrilled she wrecked his or her weekend with her mini Klan rally. I tried to make a complaint about her on their website, but it’s “down for maintenance.”
Here’s a link to an email address you can use – I just sent them a blistering message.
https://www.franklintempleton.ca/en-ca/investor/about-us/contact-us
That was one of the most excruciating examples of “how dare you-ism” I’ve ever EVER seen. That an uppity “African-American” man would have the temerity to ask a white woman, a VP at a prestigious investment firm, to leash her dog so she went thermo-nuclear Karen on him. I just sent an email to Franklin Templeton BTW, I’m sure they’re being inundated, stating my utter disgust with her behaviour and that under the circumstances she should be fired for blatantly racist lying. Her statement to CNN just dug her in deeper and I’m glad she turned her dog back in, she shouldn’t be allowed to have one under these circumstances.
AND AFTER ALL THIS SHE SAYS “I did not mean to harm that man in any way”.
That one statement proves she has learned absolutely nothing.
The video capture of her threat, then the “acting” more frightened during the call to police…. and she still has the audacity to state to the world she did not mean any harm?
The way she changed her voice to hysterical white lady in danger is so beyond disturbing!
I saw on Twitter that her poor dog has had numerous “accidents” and life threatening incidents that she tweeted about for attention. There is something seriously wrong with this woman even beyond her hysterical whiteness. I hope the shelter doesn’t return that poor dog to her psycho ass.
My thoughts exactly. Beyond her over the top reaction to a polite request, she is clearly batshit crazy and doesn’t deserve a dog. I thought she was going to kill it. It was clearly in distress.
The way she changed her voice during the call was bone chilling.
She knew she was on camera. She has something for everyone to be revolted by. Racism, animal cruelty, giving fuel to those people who don’t believe women who report assault, faking a police emergency in the middle of a pandemic.
It is the last thing anyone cares about, but those police officers had to steel themselves and willingly approach what they thought might be a life or death moment of their own…thinking that it might be a scenario where they’d have to pull a gun in a park on a crowded holiday weekend, and search for the “victim.” That’s something that goes home with them at night.
Right. Can you imagine if her apology included that she watched the video, and she’s horrified by her own behavior, and she will be seeking counseling/therapy/what-have-you? Instead, we’re left with a trash apology that makes me think she learned NOTHING.
I swear this pandemic is really bringing all the racists out of their foxholes. Good lord, the past few weeks have been a roller coaster of Karen behavior that keeps escalating. You get the Emily Giffins, Alison Romans and Lana del Rays laying out all their resentment on women of color they think are undeserving of success or love or whatever , then you have people using the cops to arrest and maybe kill people because you don’t want to be told anything or can’t respect other people’s right to mind their own business and personal existence. Speaking of this incident, there was an account on Twitter by an Asian author here in Bay Area who had her dog off leash. She was confronted by a Karen type who literally got in her face, told her aggressively to leash her dog. When the Asian woman apologized saying she didn’t realize it was a leashed area, this woman proceeded to spout a torrent of racial abuse on her and tell her to go back to where she came from, in front of her two young daughters. Meanwhile this awful woman in Central Park decides to threaten this man with police violence (she knows) for politely requesting she follow the obvious sign. Honestly, the reason this went viral the way it did was more because of how she treated her dog, more so than her calculated and despicable actions toward this man. What a vicious woman.
am seeing more and more white women crawling out from under rocks spouting racial insults and insinuations not just on your US website but here in South Africa, they have completely lost their minds! shouting racist and derogatory epithets at people during road rage incidents, shopping, everyday routine life. most recently a wannabe Miss South Africa’s social media history was uncovered to reveal a whole host of awful racist comments she made about black people. And the idiot wants to represent SA as if nothing happened. The mindset of these ladies such as your dog walker above, our Bianca Miss ex SA contestant, the British royalists that still continue to nip at Meghan’s heels, it’s indicative of the rot that is Donald Trump. He has made being a $hitbag open racist all right for entitled white supremacists the world over who love him, and believe his view are completely correct- us (white people who think like him) against them(normal people).
one would think that a global viral apocalypse would help people find their humanity and forget about being petty. sadly the karens, biancas, lana del reys and Donalds of the world just make the days harder to bear
Can we really call her a Karen (saw that elsewhere) when she’s not the generation or socio economic demo? Is every racist white woman karen now?
I thought Karen’s are the ones trying to make people follow the rules, remember the lemonade and bbq scandals?
God she’s the worst tho.
So entitled and why would she take her mask off and act ridiculous while being filmed?! I Very self defeating behaviour.
Can’t finish the video, though not a dog person (and I’m annoyed at dog people who break the rules like her) can’t stand how she’s hurting the dog so I can’t watch.
Betting she’ll say he was so scary before the video and that’s why she acted crazy
120lb dog owner here. I do not let my dog off leash in Public parks EVER. In fact, I believe parks are for humans and I dont take my dog to parks. My dog is taken to the mountains, the dog approved beach areas, fenced in yards of family and friends and an occassional abandoned parking lot of vacant commercial building to run around. Her living in NYC and not having anywhere to run her dog off leash is her problem, not his. If she cant properly care for a dog in a city then she should move to the suburbs or stop adopting large dogs.
I am so sick of Karens getting away with this. Enough is enough. Maybe if she faces real consequences such as losing her job and public humiliation, other Karens will think twice.
I get that his statement could be interpreted as a threat to the dog if you only read it, but when you listen to his voice he is clearly not threatening her. Everything after that proves she is the only threat here.
Her Firm just announced that she’s been fired effective immediately. #justice
Oh, my god. She could have gotten that man killed.
Put your dog on a leash if you’re taking it to a public space or any situation where it will come into contact with other people. PERIOD. Dogs are animals. It’s possible for them to become aggressive at any time. Really sick of pet owners who think their dog’s freedom and/or comfort comes ahead of my safety. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve been walking down the sidewalk and somebody out ‘walking’ their dog, is on a cell phone and doesn’t have the dog on a leash while they’re yapping away on their cell phones, or have the dog on a leash with so much slack that it’s able to run right up to me and start sniffing or growling before they even realize what’s going on. I cross the street if I see someone out walking their dog who is on a cell phone. My thoughts: he was wrong to try and feed a stranger’s dog a treat, even though he meant well. But she should’ve respected the rules of the park and it wouldn’t have gone that far. Not to mention her complete lack of thought about what calling the police could’ve meant for him.
I was ready to press play and get mad at central Park karen. but after reading the comments about how she’s treating the poor dog I jus can’t watch the video. She showed her true colors
She basically threatened to kill that man by proxy. She needs to be brought to justice. And about having her life ruined…she did that to herself.
I couldn’t watch the whole video, she made me feel sick. We have racism here in Australia don’t get me wrong, but in America it’s Just so scary. I am SO glad Christian was able to film the whole ordeal and he is safe.
I just read she got fired! Thank f* k.
I have to admit if a man (doesn’t matter what color he was) told me “If you are going to do what you want to do, I’m going to do what I want to do” in a woodsy area of Central Park that would set my inner alert to code RED immediately. I lived on the Upper West Side for 3 years so I am very familiar with the ramble. However, I have never owned a dog in the city nor have I walked one off-leash either and I wouldn’t think about breaking the rules like this woman did either. I also never approached/talked to other park goers and stuck to minding my own business when I went on my walks. It’s also part of the reason why I usually walked in Riverside Park over Central Park–less tourists and not as crowded typically.
This woman knowingly broke the rules and then tried to get this man arrested by deliberately using his skin color against him when he called her out. I’m glad he was able to film the encounter and get away unscathed. I’m also glad the woman’s dog is okay too. Though I have to wonder at the top comments everyone expressing horror at the dog’s treatment over the black man’s… Yes, the dog was in distress but let’s stop pretending its life was at stake. It was not. And I say this as a major dog lover. Christian Cooper’s situation was more precarious here than the dog’s.
His tactic of carrying dog treats with him is pretty smart (for all we know he could have come across a vicious dog!) though he should use it sparingly… That will usually piss off dog owners like this woman here and sometimes make the situation worse. I would only use it if a dog was about to attack me or looked vicious.
For the record I am still not in support of using people’s names as labels for horrible behavior. But this is the most Karenny Karen to ever Karen.
And Lord help me, as someone who has had on more than one occasion have to rush to the vet a leashed dog torn to shreds by an unleashed dog whose owners swore their dog is trained and never did anything like that before, I flipping loathe people who ignore leash regulations and think the rules are for everyone but them. My last dog died of cancer and I won’t get another because I can’t deal with this sort of thing anymore. It’s too pervasive.
I just read on Forbes.com that Amy Cooper was fired from Franklin Templeton. Her behavior was disturbing and vile.
I wonder how many other folks & dogs she has treated this way, regardless of race.
What a horrible woman 😞
I hope the poor dog gets a loving, empathetic person to adopt him.
If you look at the list of strange and dramatic “accidents” Henry miraculously survived in his past two years with Amy Cooper, it seems hard to believe that they could all be true, but if they are true, they sound largely preventable by keeping him leashed and supervised. He fell in the lake and nearly drowned. Most spaniels can swim, so that just sounds insane. She said he was attacked by a “BLACK pit bull” but her heroics saved him. That’s probably more of the same. Someone with a black dog probably asked her to leash Henry and she screamed “black pit bull attack!!”. If this new incident weren’t on camera, she probably would have said the “AFRICAN AMERICAN man strangled Henry by his collar, but I saved him!”
I gotta ask are there any recorded cases of muchaninsyndrome by proxy for pet owners cause ummmmm
That’s what I thought!
FT fired her. Someone posted this guy’s picture on Twitter apparently he was in a bird watching documentary. He looks like a mild mannered scholar. For her to start screaming like he was going to come after her was highly disturbing.
She’s only sorry she got caught and I’m glad she’s out of work.
FYI.. she has been fired.
Soooooooooo how soon is too soon to talk about what a hottie Christian Cooper is? I got a bird he can watch…too soon?
#slutscanbewoketoo
He is *very* handsome.
By the video, it doesn’t look like she was afraid, or afraid of him. She approaches HIM (not afraid), and several times during the call takes her eyes off (because she’s not really afraid of him). So fucking racist how smug her tone is when she threatens him with the cops, knowing full well I’m sure what she’s threatening him with.
I tried. I tried so hard to look at this story in any other way because I really try to find good in people/see both sides…but this chick? That was straight-up evil. Straight. Evil.
I’m glad that this man was spared further consequence for simply asking another human to be decent and follow established community rules. I’m glad he’s safe, and I’m very glad he recorded the incident. It was unwise to threaten “you won’t like it,” because I thought, “You know, I’d take that as a threat to my dog.” But then…I thought of it this way:
He NEVER would’ve gotten snarky with her like that if she’d been a decent human. If she’d said, “Oh, sir, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for her to disturb; thanks for pointing the signage out to me,” and put the dog on a leash…they would’ve parted with a smile.
She threatened him. She manipulated him. She made that phone call with malice and threat. She knew EXACTLY what she was doing. Evil.
I’m glad the man didn’t suffer from her behavior, and I’m glad the poor little dog was taken away. She deserves to have her privilege and inflated entitlement dismantled so she can sit and reflect on her life’s choices and re-evaluate her place in the world.
I don’t why people would be surprised by this – white women would kill their own children and blame black men.
I find it disturbing that so many people feel that the police would impulsively shoot first..investigate later. Who can you poor guys trust over there?!?! President..Nope! Police…Nope! Professional white citizen..Nope! Hardly the Land of the free…You are all imprisoned in your own country by guns, poverty and racism.