A new shocking video of a racist encounter has gone viral. The unsettling incident took place in Central Park in New York City on Monday morning, according to CNN. A white woman by the name of Amy Cooper was angered when a black man asked her to put her dog on a leash. Instead of leashing her dog, she called the police on him, feigning an emergency and even pretending her life was in danger.
The man, Christian Cooper, who is not related to Amy, is an avid bird-watcher, which is what he was doing in the park. He remained calm during the incident and pulled out his cellphone to film her rant. Filming racist incidents has become a more common practice in recent years — and with good reason. It not only helps show who the true victim is, but it also allows the greater public to see firsthand the kinds of situations black people all too frequently face.
The footage is deeply shocking. Amy Cooper approaches Christian, getting in his face while he asks her repeatedly not to come so close to him. Then she pulls out her phone and tells him, "I'm going to tell them that there's an African American man threatening my life!" she asserts. It almost appears as if she's smiling behind her mask.
When the operator gets on the phone, she completely changes her tone from enraged to hysterical, clearly pretending that she's being threatened. She tells the operator to please send the police. "He's recording me and threatening me and my dog," she says. As the call goes on, she becomes more and more hysterical while Christian remains at a distance, quietly filming the event.
To be clear, the woman was in an area of the public park that requires dogs to be on leashes at all times. Secondly, her life was no way in danger — that much is easily discernible from the video footage. The woman is manipulating the situation out of anger at being asked to abide by the rules of the park by a black man.
After the incident, Christian posted the encounter on Facebook. It quickly circulated and has since been shared over 7,300 times. Now that the shocking footage is going viral, Amy Cooper is facing some serious repercussions. She has been put on leave from her job. She is also being recognized for the worst possible reason — her clear and cowardly racist actions.
Amy Cooper told CNN she wanted to "publicly apologize to everyone." She definitely wants to make it known that she's not racist; however, the video paints a very different picture. "I'm not a racist. I did not mean to harm that man in any way," she said. She also asserts that she was actually afraid during the encounter.
Christian, on the other hand, is glad that he caught the event on video. "I videotaped it because I thought it was important to document things," Christian Cooper said. "Unfortunately we live in an era with things like Ahmaud Arbery, where black men are seen as targets."
He continued, "This woman thought she could exploit that to her advantage, and I wasn't having it." Asked if he would accept her apology, Christian Cooper told CNN, "If it's genuine and if she plans on keeping her dog on a leash in the Ramble going forward, then we have no issues with each other," he replied. It truly seems like Christian's only concern was that Amy Cooper put her dog on a leash.
Amy Cooper is now saying that her entire life has been destroyed as a result of the video. After her employer, investment company Franklin Templeton, put her on leave, the company issued this statement: "We take these matters very seriously, and we do not condone racism of any kind. While we are in the process of investigating the situation, the employee involved has been put on administrative leave."
Amy has also surrendered her dog to the shelter he was adopted from, Abandoned Angels Cocker Spaniel Rescue. The shelter also addressed the issue in a Facebook post, saying, "Thank you to the concerned public for reaching out to us about a video involving a dog that was adopted from our rescue a few years ago. As of this evening, the owner has voluntarily surrendered the dog in question to our rescue while this matter is being addressed. Our mission remains the health and safety of our rescued dogs. The dog is now in our rescue's care and he is safe and in good health. We will not be responding to any further inquiries about the situation, either publicly or privately. Thank you for your understanding."
Amy Cooper is now dealing with some pretty jarring repercussions. And while it's certainly sad that her life is being so rearranged at this moment, the fact is that for a black man being confronted with such intense racist actions, the situation could've had a much more tragic ending.
Unarmed black men are killed at high rates in the US. Making the deliberate choice to pretend to be threatened by a black person is not only deeply racist — it could cost that person their life.
