They acted expeditiously!! On Monday, a viral video of Amy Cooper calling the police on a Black man, after asking her to put her dog on a leash has now been fired. Her employer, an investment firm, Franklin Templeton, wrote on Twitter:
“Following our internal review of the incident in Central Park yesterday, we have made the decision to terminate the employee involved, effective immediately,” the company tweeted. “We do not tolerate racism of any kind at Franklin Templeton.”
According to reports, the incident took place in Central Park. The man recording the video, now identified as Christian had been bird watching, when he noticed the dog unleashed. Once he asked her to put the dog on a leash, Cooper reportedly acted as a damsel in distress and called the cops.
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
In the video Cooper can be heard saying, “I’m going to tell them there’s an African American man threatening my life.” While Christian remained calmed and encouraged Cooper to call the police, she changed the tone in her voice and acted as though she was in danger, even though the video clearly showed she was not.
Christian spoke to NBC and stated,
“If the habitat is destroyed, we won’t be able to go there to see the birds, to enjoy the plantings. At some point, she decided I’m gonna play the race card, I guess.”
He continued, “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.”
Cooper apologized for her actions. She told NBC:
“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 a lower light and I understand why they do.”
Welp.
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