Dog owner racially profiles black man, abuses her own dog
Yet another dishonest 911 call risking the life of a black man
Update on July 6, 2020: Amy Cooper was reunited with her dog. However, she now faces a criminal charge for filing a false report. If convicted on Oct. 14, she could receive a conditional discharge, or be sentenced to community service or counseling rather than jail time.
Update: The Cocker Spaniel, Henry, was returned to Abandoned Angels Cocker Spaniel Rescue Inc., according to the company’s Facebook post. According to a post from her current employer Franklin Templeton, she was also terminated.
In one of the oddest racial profiling 911 calls, a white woman managed to make herself look abusive to her own dog, not look out for the safety of other park pedestrians and boldly lied about a black man “threatening her” — on film. Unfortunately, I could dedicate an entire beat to writing Medium posts on racial profiling. A few can be found in “I Do See Color,” but there are not enough hours in the day (or 100-part Ava DuVernay series) to cover them all.
ADVERTISEMENT ~ Amazon
As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn a percentage for each purchase with my referral links.
But this entire filmed conflict between Amy Cooper, a dog owner, and Christian Cooper, a Central Park pedestrian and bird watcher, brings to mind an older post I wrote months ago about off-leash dogs. While dog owners tend to be the kind of people who run up on other people’s dogs and don’t fear these four-legged animals, pedestrians have a legitimate right to ask you to leash your dog. In public spaces where that dog can take off running at a moment’s notice — trained or not — others have the right to feel safe in that environment, too.
Recommended Read: “I never wanted to bird-watch, but I’m watching Christian Cooper’s show ~ Racist Amy Cooper sues employer, innocent black man gets nature show”