White Woman in Viral Central Park Video Fired From Work Over Racism

In the clip, which started circulated online on Monday, May 25, Amy Cooper was seen threatening to call the police on Christian Cooper, the senior biomedical editor at Health Science Communication.

AceShowbiz –
A video went viral on social media recently as it featured a white woman apparently racially profiling a black man while she was in Ramble, a nature preserve in New York’s Central Park. In the clip, which started circulating online on Monday, May 25, the woman, who was later identified as Amy Cooper, was seen threatening to call the police on Christian Cooper, the senior biomedical editor at Health Science Communication.

Amy, who worked as VP of Investment Solutions at investment firm Franklin Templeton, was allegedly walking her dog without his leash, which meant that she violated the park’s rules. It appeared that she was involved in an argument with Christian. “Sir, I’m asking you to stop recording me. … I’m going to call the cops!” she said, to which Christian responded, “Please call the cops.”

“I’ll tell them that an African-American man threatening my life,” she said. Not afraid, Christian responded, “Please tell them whatever you like.” Amy did call the cops and frantically reported to the cops, “I’m sorry, I’m in the Ramble, and there’s a man, African-American, with a bicycle helmet. He is recording me, and threatening me and my dog…I’m sorry I can’t hear you. I’m being threatened by a man in The Ramble. Please send the cops immediately.”

The video was first uploaded by Christian’s sister Melody, who wrote on 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.”

Christian Cooper’s sister shared the video on Twitter.

It didn’t take long before the clip became the talk of Internet users to the point it reached to the woman’s employer Franklin Templeton. “In response to an incident involving an employee on May 25th,” Franklin Templeton issued a statement which read, “We take these matters very seriously, and we do not condone racism of any kind. While we are in the process of investigating the situation, the employee involved has been put on administrative leave.”

Later, Franklin Templeton revealed on Tuesday that they had fired Amy. “Following our internal review of the incident in Central Park yesterday, we have made the decision to terminate the employee involved, effective immediately. We do not tolerate racism of any kind at Franklin Templeton,” read the tweet.

Franklin Templeton fired Amy Cooper following racist incident.

Abandoned Angels Cocker Spaniel Rescue, Inc. also issued a statement regarding the incident, revealing that she lost her dog after the footage showed her nearly choking the puppy. “I sincerely and humbly apologize to everyone, especially to that man, his family. It was unacceptable and I humbly and fully apologize to everyone who’s seen that video, everyone that’s been offended…everyone who thinks of me in a lower light and I understand why they do…When I think about the police, I’m such a blessed person. I’ve come to realize especially today that I think of [the police] as a protection agency, and unfortunately, this has caused me to realize that there are so many people in this country that don’t have that luxury,” it wrote on Monday.