Christian Cooper: New York City Man Posts Viral Central Park Video
On Monday morning, a white woman in New York City's famed Central Park decided to call the cops on a black man after he requested that she restrain her dog with a leash.
"I'm gonna tell them there's an African American man threatening my life," the woman, who has been identified as Amy Cooper, can be heard saying before calling 911 despite the man appearing not to show any signs of being aggressive towards her. Christian Cooper, the man who can be heard speaking to Amy Cooper in the video, also makes no threats. "There is an African-American man, I'm in Central park, he is recording me, and threatening myself and my dog... I'm being threatened by a man in the Ramble please send the cops immediately."
Video shared to social media that shows the encounter has since went viral with many calling for the woman to be fired from her job over the interaction. Others are calling for her arrest for filing a false police report. Christian's sister Melody Cooper posted the footage to Twitter, pointing out that the area requires that dogs be leashed. "Oh, when Karens take a walk with their dogs off leash in the famous Bramble [sic] 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," Melody Cooper wrote in her tweet.
Police eventually responded to Amy Cooper's call but left without making an arrest. "Upon arrival, police determined two individuals had engaged in a verbal dispute," a spokesperson for the NYPD said, per WPIX. "There were no arrests or summonses issued and both parties went on their way."
"If the habitat is destroyed we won’t be able to go there to see the birds, to enjoy the plantings," Christian Coopertold NBC New York. "The only way they can keep the dog from eating the treat is to put it on a leash... At some point, she decided I’m gonna play the race card, I guess."
Franklin Templeton, the investment firm that Amy Cooper works for released a statement on the incident and said that she has been placed on administrative leave.
"We take these matters very seriously, and we do not condone racism of any kind," the company said. "While we are in the process of investigating the situation, the employee involved as been put on administrative leave."