NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Amy Cooper, also known as the “Central Park Karen,” is defending her decision to call police on a Black birdwatcher last year.
Amy Cooper drew ire worldwide in May 2020 after cellphone video showed her calling 911 on birdwatcher Christian Cooper, no relation, claiming she felt threatened after he requested she put her dog on a leash.
The viral video taken by Christian Cooper depicts Amy Cooper saying there’s “an African American man threatening my life.” She was fired from her job at investment firm Franklin Templeton in the wake of the video’s circulation.
Amy was profiled on the podcast “Honestly with Bari Weiss,” hosted by the ex-New York Times editor who resigned last year after alleging the paper had become “a kind of performance space.”
On the podcast, Amy says she is still in hiding as of their interview, rarely leaves home without someone else with her and is “terrified” to walk her dog.
Amy continues to believe that she had to call police on Christian, saying, “I don’t know that as a woman alone in a park that I had another option.”
Amy says that when the infamous video began, she was making efforts to leash her dog. She also claims that when Christian asked her to “not come close” to her, that his demeanor changed to sound less threatening than he had beforehand.
When asked why she chose the phrase “African American man” in her call, she says it was simply to provide a description, that she was forced to repeat due to a spotty connection with the operator. One of the focal points of the video is the increasing terrified tone she takes as the call goes on.
Christian Cooper said in a 2020 CBS News special that it was apparent to him that Amy “was going to tap into a deep, deep, dark vein of racism, of racial bias, that runs through this country and has for centuries.”
Amy also alleges that Christian was holding a bike helmet in a threatening manner and was carrying dog treats in order to lure the dog away.
She says on the podcast that she yelled out to a man nearby in the park who then stood by her, and that Christian had left before police arrived.
Amy was eventually charged with filing a false police report, but it was dismissed in February after she completed a counseling program.
Amy also recounts the moments after she realized the video was going viral, calling it a “crazy out-of-context” video posted by Christian’s sister on Twitter, among other places. She claims she started receiving angry, violent texts, calls and emails within minutes.
Christian told NPR that what Amy Cooper did was "pretty crappy without a doubt,” but added that, "I'm not sure that her one minute of poor decision-making, bad judgment and, without question, racist response necessarily has to define her completely."
Amy says on the podcast that she has never actually spoken to Christian since the incident. She says she would lead a conversation with him with: “You scared me.”
Amy has since filed a suit against former employer Franklin Templeton, claiming their firing of her was done improperly. The company has stood by the decision.
As the interview concludes, she mulls moving to another country where the Central Park story “didn’t run.” She also openly talks about considering taking her own life by crashing her car on some days.