The Americans never fail to make a headline over the black community hate at least once a day. The hysterical incident took place in New York’s Central Park also known as the Ramble, a video has gone viral of a white woman calling the cops on a black man who simply asked her to leash her dog. The white woman accused the man of threatening her and the dog, where the rules clearly states that owners must leash their dogs.
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
The video was first posted on Facebook by the sister of the man who filmed the confrontation, Melody Cooper, explained that he had asked the woman to put her dog on its leash when she refused to, he began filming. The man encountered the woman at around 8 a.m walking her dog in the Ramble, a protected nature reserve located within Central Park, all dogs must be leased between 9 a.m to 9 p.m in other parts of Central Park, dogs must be leashed at all times.
Melody Cooper further explained, her brother asked the woman to put her dog on leash, the woman replied by saying that the dog runs were closed, and her dog needs the exercise. The brother was about to throw a treat to the dog, when the woman said, “Don’t you touch my dog,” and that’s when he started recording.
Christian Cooper [the man] is a graduate of Harvard and is currently the senior biomedical editor at Health Science Communications. He previously worked as an editor at Marvel Comics, where he introduced the first gay male character in a Star Trek comic, Yoshi Mishima. He is an avid birdwatcher and was president of the Harvard Ornithological Club in the 1980s, according to Wikipedia.
In the video, the woman is heard stating, “I’m going to tell them there’s an African American man threatening my life.” To which the man replied, “Please tell them whatever you like,” the woman then walks a few feet away and makes a call.
As reports the say, presumably she called the NYPD, “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.” The woman then repeats herself much louder this time, “I’m sorry I can’t hear you. I’m being threatened by a man in The Ramble. Please send the cops immediately.” In the video, it was clearly seen the woman holding her dog in the air by the collar, causing it to yip in distress.
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
The video quickly went viral on Facebook and Twitter, the woman was later identified as Amy Cooper, Vice President of Investment Solutions at Franklin Templeton. Right after the video going viral, investment firm Franklin Templeton shared a statement on Twitter, “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.”
In addition, the Abandoned Angels Cocker Spaniel Rescue, Inc. also posted a comment appearing to refer to the subject of the video on Facebook. Abandoned Angels said that the woman voluntarily surrendered the dog to them, they wrote,” The dog is now in our rescue’s care and he is safe and in good health. We will not be responding to any further inquiries about the situation, either publicly or privately.”
Monday night, Amy Cooper spoke to NBC New York via phone and apologized publicly. She said, “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 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,” she added.
Steve Lopez is the Editorial Page Editor for News Raise. He covers Health. He has won more than a dozen national journalism awards for his reporting and column writing at seven newspapers and four news magazines.
