A white woman who was fired from her job after her verbal dispute with a black man in New York City’s Central Park went viral on the internet is being investigated by the city’s Commission on Human Rights, the New York Post reported.
Amy Cooper, nicknamed Central Park Karen by the internet, has been accused of racism for calling police and telling them she was being recorded and threatened by an “African-American man.”
“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,” Deputy Commissioner of the Law Enforcement Bureau at the Commission on Human Rights Sapna Raj told the Post.
The dispute arose Monday when Ms. Cooper let her dog loose in a section of Central Park known as the Ramble, where hounds are required to be on a leash. Christian Cooper, who recorded the exchange and is no relation to Amy Cooper, said in a Facebook post the dog was “tearing through the plantings” and he told her to go to another part of the park.
When she refused, he took dog treats out of his pocket, causing her to scream not to go near the dog, Fox News reported.
She then warned him she would call police unless he stopped recording. “I’m going to tell them there’s an African-American man threatening my life,” she said.
“Please call the cops,” Christian Cooper says.
“There’s an African-American man, I’m in Central Park, he is recording me and threatening myself and my dog. … Please send the cops immediately!” she can be seen and heard saying before the video stops.
Amy Cooper, who apologized in an interview with WNBC, was fired Tuesday from her job at Franklin Templeton, which tweeted “We do not tolerate racism of any kind at Franklin Templeton.”
© 2023 Newsmax. All rights reserved.