Central Park birdwatching incident

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Central Park birdwatching incident
The Ramble where the encounter between Amy Cooper and Christian Cooper occurred.
DateMay 25, 2020
LocationCentral Park, New York City
Filmed byChristian Cooper
ParticipantsAmy Cooper (White dog walker)
Christian Cooper (Black birder)
ChargesAmy Cooper: filing a false police report (dismissed Feb 2021)

The Central Park birdwatching incident occurred on May 25, 2020, in

9-1-1 call to the New York City Police Department stating that "There is an African American man—I am in Central Park—he is recording me and threatening myself and my dog. Please, send the cops immediately!"[1] The incident received wide publicity when a video showing the interaction between the two parties went viral
.

In July, Amy Cooper was charged by the

Manhattan District Attorney with filing a false police report, a misdemeanor with a penalty of up to one year in jail. The charges against her were dropped in February 2021, after she completed an educational course on racial identity. She was also fired by her employer, investment firm Franklin Templeton Investments, who said in a statement that "we do not tolerate racism of any kind".[2]

The incident happened the same day as the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Both incidents gained nearly instant media coverage due to video recordings being shared across social media.

Incident

On the morning of May 25, 2020, a woman named Amy Cooper was walking her dog in an area of

dog treat.[5] Amy then yelled: "Don't you touch my dog!"[5] As Christian later explained, he regularly encounters dog owners who refuse to leash their dogs in leash-only areas, which is both harmful to birds and disruptive to birders like himself. This led him to carry dog treats to offer to off-leash dogs as a method of tricking owners into leashing their dogs, since he has found that dog owners tend to distrust strangers and will leash their dogs in order to prevent them from taking the treat.[5] Amy became upset with this and began threatening to call the police, leading Christian to begin recording on his cellphone.[3][5]

External videos
video icon Video recorded by Christian Cooper on Twitter (archived at the Wayback Machine)

Christian Cooper's video begins with Amy Cooper approaching him asking him to stop recording and pointing her finger in his face.

9-1-1 operator, she tells the operator that "There is an African American man—I am in Central Park—he is recording me and threatening myself and my dog. Please, send the cops immediately!"[1][7] The video ends with Christian telling her "thank you", the moment she leashes the dog.[8] Police said that by the time they responded, both individuals had left.[7]

The New York Times reported in October 2020 that Amy had made a second 9-1-1 call against Christian, in which she alleged that Christian had tried to assault her.[9] However, the Times later made a correction, saying that the second call was when a 9-1-1 dispatcher called her back. The existence of the second 9-1-1 call was not reported by the media at the time of the incident.[10]

Reaction

Christian Cooper's sister posted the video on her Twitter account, while Christian posted the video to his own Facebook page. The Twitter video alone received over 40 million views.

cocker spaniel, by its collar.[13][14] On May 25, she surrendered the dog to the shelter from which she had adopted him two years before.[15] On June 3, after an evaluation by the shelter's veterinarian, the dog was returned to her.[16]

After viewing the video that day, Amy's employer, Franklin Templeton, placed her on administrative leave pending an investigation. The following day the company fired her from her job as head of the firm's insurance investments.[17][18] In a statement the company said that "we have made the decision to terminate the employee involved, effective immediately. We do not tolerate racism of any kind at Franklin Templeton."[2]

In a Facebook commentary, television host Trevor Noah said that the confrontation between the two Coopers was an example of how White and Black Americans see, and are seen by, the police differently.[19] He said that this event being captured on video meant that viewers could perceive Amy Cooper's actions as deliberate, and verifying the police's unequal treatment of people of different races.

The August 3, 2021, episode of the podcast Honestly with

doxxed, causing her to feel suicidal and forcing her to leave the United States.[21][22]

Penguin Random House published the book Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World in June 2023.[23]

Legislation

In 2018, legislation was first proposed in the New York State Assembly by assemblyman Félix W. Ortiz that would consider falsely reporting criminal incidents against protected groups of people—including race, gender, and religion—to be a hate crime. Violators could face prison time "if the motivation for reporting such crime is motivated by a perception or belief about their race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, religious practice, age, disability or sexual orientation".[24] The bill was re-introduced in the Assembly by Ortiz with four co-sponsors[25][26] and in the New York State Senate by Senator Brian Benjamin in May 2020 in the wake of the Central Park incident.[27][28][29] It was subsequently supported by Governor Andrew Cuomo as part of a set of other proposals related to police reform for the 2020 New York legislative session, and he signed it into law in June 2020.[7][24]

Legal proceedings

During the week of the incident, the New York City Commission on Human Rights launched an investigation of the interaction and sent a letter to Amy Cooper requesting her cooperation. The commission has the power to fine violators of the law, award financial damages to victims, order training on the New York City Human Rights Law, and order community service.[6]

The Central Park Civic Association asked New York City Mayor

Washington Post op-ed piece, saying he was ambivalent about prosecuting her because "I think it’s a mistake to focus on this one individual. The important thing the incident highlights is the long-standing, deep-seated racial bias against us black and brown folk that permeates the United States."[35]

In October 2020, during a court appearance for Amy Cooper, the

On May 25, 2021, Amy Cooper sued Franklin Templeton for wrongful termination.[39][40] She claimed that the firing had violated several anti-discrimination and defamation laws. Amy Cooper's lawsuit characterized Christian Cooper as "a birdwatcher with a history of aggressively confronting dog owners in Central Park who walked their dogs without a leash. It was Christian Cooper's practice and intent to cause dog owners to be fearful for their safety and the safety of their dogs"[41] Franklin Templeton said: "We believe ... the company responded appropriately. We will defend against these baseless claims."[42][43] In August 2021, the company requested that the lawsuit be dismissed.[44] On September 23, 2022, Amy Cooper's lawsuit of wrongful termination against Franklin Templeton was dismissed.[45][46] As of May 19, 2023, Cooper has appealed, but that appeal was dismissed on June 8, 2023, by the Manhattan appeals court.[47][48]

See also

References

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  2. ^ a b "The woman who called 911 on a Black bird watcher wasn't wrongfully fired, judge rules". NPR. Archived from the original on August 26, 2023. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
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  8. ^ Melody Cooper [@melodyMcooper] (May 25, 2020). "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" (Tweet). Archived from the original on May 25, 2020. Retrieved June 6, 2020 – via Twitter.
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Further reading