Birdwatching While Black

Amy Cooper, choking her dog while weaponizing the police

A white American woman called the police on a black man after he asked her to put her dog on a leash in a New York City park yesterday.  The man, described as an "avid birder", was concerned the dog could endanger wildlife in Central Park.  The woman, later identified as Amy Cooper told him, "I'm going to tell them [police] there's an African-American man threatening my life."

A video of the incident posted on social media later went viral. Ms. Cooper was later suspended by her employer, Franklin Templeton Investments, where she served as Vice President of Investment Solutions.   Cooper was also pressured to return her dog to a rescue center after she was accused of cruelty, appearing to choke the animal while calling the police.

The incident started when the bird-watching man noticed Ms Cooper's dog "tearing through the plantings" in an area of Central Park called the Ramble.  He was concerned the dog would destroy the bird habitat, and he called out to Cooper, "Ma'am, dogs in the Ramble have to be on the leash at all times. The sign is right there."  However, Cooper refused to restrain her dog.  He then offered the dog some treats, as a way to encourage it to leave the woodland.   Cooper then scrambled to grab her dog, yelling “don’t you touch my dog.”

The man began to film Cooper with his mobile phone, and she asked him to stop.  She then picked up her dog by the collar and began walking toward him, prompting  him to tell her, “please don’t come close to me,” as she asked him to stop recording. “Sir, I’m asking you to stop recording me,” Amy Cooper said, before extending her arm and dragging her dog along as she moved closer to Cooper. “Please take your phone off,” the woman said, as the man again tells her not to come closer.

Amy Cooper, while holding her dog by the collar, then pulled out her phone and said, “I’m taking a picture and calling the cops.”   On the video, she dials 911 and feigns distress, telling the dispatcher, “I’m in the Ramble and there’s an African American man in a bicycle helmet. He’s recording me and threatening me and my dog. As she is speaking to the dispatcher, her dog starts pulling at his collar and trying to get free, appearing to struggle to breathe as she focuses on the call.  She repeats, “There’s an African American man. I’m in Central Park, he is recording me and threatening myself and my dog.” Her dog then tumbles to the ground and yelps before panting heavily.

Amy Cooper wrapped up the 911 call by yelling, “I’m being threatened by a man in the Ramble. Please send cops immediately. I’m in Central Park in the Ramble, I don’t know.”

The video was later posted to Twitter by the victim's sister and was widely condemned on social media as many pointed out the high number of killings of black men by police.  Many made reference to the fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old black man who was out jogging when he was killed by two men.

Amy Cooper has been dubbed “Central Park Karen” by some on social media. Police said the incident occurred about 8 a.m. and that officers were dispatched for a "possible assault."  Both Amy Cooper and the victim were gone when officers arrived. No tickets or warnings were issued. New York City Councilman Mark Levine tweeted, “Filling a false police report is a crime. Being racist is reprehensible. There needs to be accountability for this. Disgusting."

The victim later said on social media, “Once she put the dog on the leash, I birded my way out of the park as normal (I was done for the day and on my way out when I encountered her).” He added, “I’m fine… At this point, I’m getting used to this. Though the full-on racist slant was new.”

Amy Cooper's employer Franklin Templeton, an investment firm, has suspended her while it investigates the incident, saying  "we do not condone racism of any kind."   Cooper told the media, "I sincerely and humbly apologize to everyone, especially to that man, his family."  The incident made her realize that not everyone has the "luxury" of thinking of the police as a "protection agency," she added.

After many observed that Cooper choked the dog while calling the police, reports started coming in about other "mysterious" incidents involving Ms. Cooper and her dog-- including a fight with another dog, a ripped toenail, and a health care when the dog almost choked after eating something on the street.  As a result, Cooper returned her dog to the Abandoned Angels Cocker Spaniel Rescue center, where she adopted it a few years ago.  "The dog is now in our rescue's care and he is safe and in good health," the organization wrote on social media.