“Central Park Karen,” real name Amy Cooper, has not only been fired from her job at an investment management company, but she’s issued a formal apology after a video of her went viral.
All Amy Cooper had to do was put her dog on a leash, but insteadKnown now as “Central Park Karen,” Amy Cooper was walking her dog in the wooded area of Central Park called The Ramble. It’s a place where people like Christian Cooper (no relation to Amy) likes to go to birdwatch. As a rule, in order to preserve the area and keep wildlife safe, dogs are required to be leashed in the Ramble area. When Christian saw Amy’s pup unleashed, he asked her to comply with the rules. She refused, but he came prepared. He had dog treats with him to offer them to pups of people who didn’t obey because no dog owner wants to see their pet running away from them toward a stranger.
Most people leash their dogs and go about their business, but Amy Cooper decided to not only argue with Christian, but to tell him that she planned on calling the police. She said she was going to tell officers that she was being threatened by an African-American man, even though Christian was the one demanding that Amy move away from him. As he records her from a distance, Amy speaks with dispatch and pretends to be in distress as she changes the tone in her voice as if she’s about to be attacked. All the while, she was so concerned with framing Christian for a possible assault that she didn’t notice that she was choking her dog. When she placed the whimpering dog on a leash, Christian left.
After the video quickly went viral, Amy Cooper’s dog that she rescued back in 2018 was returned to the non-profit she adopted him from. Now it’s being reported that Amy has been fired from her job at investment management company Franklin Templeton. She later issued an apology.
“I sincerely and humbly apologize to everyone, especially to that man, his family,” she told WNBC. “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.” She added, “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.”
