NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – The New York City Commission on Human Rights is investigating the viral exchange between a white dogwalker and black birdwatcher in Central Park.
The woman at the center of the video -- in which she calls police and claims an African-American man is threatening her and her dog -- was fired by her investment firm employer, Franklin Templeton on Tuesday.
Now the city's human rights commission has reportedly sent a letter of inquiry to Amy Cooper asking for her cooperation in its probe.
"At a time when the devastating impacts of racism in Black communities have been made so painfully clear—from racial disparities in COVID-19 outcomes, to harassment of essential workers on the frontlines—it is appalling to see these types of ugly threats directed at one New Yorker by another," Sapna Raj, deputy commissioner of the Law Enforcement Bureau at the Commission on Human Rights, said in a statement, according to the New York Post.
"Efforts to intimidate Black people by threatening to call law enforcement draw on a long, violent and painful history, and they are unacceptable. We encourage Ms. Cooper to cooperate with the Commission and meaningfully engage in a process to address the harm that she has caused," Raj said.
Cooper was fired from her job at Franklin Templeton on Tuesday, a day after the viral exchange in Central Park.
"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," the company said in a statement.
Cooper had been put on administrative leave by the company shortly after the video gained traction online.
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 confrontation began when the man, Christian Cooper, asked her to leash her dog in Central Park.
Christian Cooper captured the exchange on his phone and it was posted to Twitter by his sister.
Amy Cooper is seen on video asking Christian Cooper to stop recording her and then seemingly calls the NYPD and is heard saying, "there's an African-American man threatening my life."
"There is an African-American man. I am in Central Park. He is recording me and threatening myself and my dog," she said repeatedly.While on the phone, Amy Cooper is seen grappling with her dog, lifting it up and pulling it by its collar numerous times."We live in an age of Ahmaud Arbery where black men are gunned down because of assumptions people make about black men, black people, and I'm just not going to participate in that," Christian told NBC New York.Once Amy finally puts a leash on her dog, Christian stops recording and is heard telling her, "Thank you."Christian left by the time police arrived.
Officials determined the incident was a "verbal dispute" and said no complaints or arrests were made."We're not going to pursue that," NYPD First Deputy Commissioner Benjamin Tucker told PIX 11 on Tuesday. "We've got bigger fish to fry, I think, and the DA would never prosecute that. It's not even clear that it would be actionable in terms of any violation."
Tucker added that it was "an unfortunate incident, and frankly, it's hard to understand what she did."
Amy Cooper told CNN she wanted to "publicly apologize to everyone.""I'm not a racist. I did not mean to harm that man in any way," she said, adding that she also didn't mean any harm to the African American community.
Christian told CNN that Amy's behavior was racist but that death threats reportedly made against her should stop immediately.
"I know I have had to deal with a lot of messaging, and the messaging aimed at her has been quite significant, so I could see where that could be a little startling," Cooper said. "And some of the messaging I am told has been death threats, and that is wholly inappropriate and abhorrent and should stop immediately."
"I find it strange that people who were upset that ... that she tried to bring death by cop down on my head, would then turn around and try to put death threats on her head. Where is the logic in that?" he added. "Where does that make any kind of sense?"
Christian also said he believes Amy's apology was sincere.
Meanwhile, Abandoned Angels Cocker Spaniel Rescue said Amy "voluntarily surrendered" the dog seen in the video.
"The dog is now in our rescue's care and he is safe and in good health," the rescue tweeted.
"This apology is totally inadequate," City Councilman Mark Levine tweeted. "Reflects no acknowledgment that she made a false accusation nor that she was attempting to weaponize the race of Mr. Cooper."
He calls the incident "disgusting," and "there needs to be accountability for this.," Levine adds.
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