Amy Cooper, The “Central Park Karen” Who Called Police On A Black Man, Has Been Fired

A white woman in New York has been fired after a viral video showed her hysterically calling police on a black man who asked her to leash her dog — and claiming he was threatening her.

Christian Cooper was birdwatching in a section of New York’s Central Park this week when he crossed paths with Amy Cooper.

Her dog was running free in the Rambles, an area where dogs must be kept on a leash at all times to protect the habitat. Chris asked her to leash her dog — she refused.

What followed was a sickening incident of white privilege being weaponised.

Christian told NBC News he began filming after offering her dog a treat, since he usually finds owners would rather leash their dog than have it eat something from a stranger.

“I’m going to tell (police) there’s an African American man threatening my life,” Amy said.

“Please tell them whatever you like,” Christian responded.

And she did.

“I’m in the Ramble and there is a man, African American, he has a bicycle helmet, he is recording me and threatening me and my dog,” she said to a 911 operator, all the while tugging her dog by its collar as it struggles.

Throughout the conversation she changes her voice to sound increasingly hysterical and distressed as she described being “threatened” by a black man — all while the man in question films the interaction calmly from a distance.

Within six hours of the video being uploaded, Twitter had her name. Amy Cooper began trending worldwide. They found out where she worked, and even where she adopted her dog (which has since been surrendered).

The video has now been watched more than 34 million times.

Overnight investment firm Franklin Templeton announced she had been fired over the incident.

“Following our internal review of the incident in Central Park yesterday, we have made the decision to terminate the employee involved, effective immediately. We do not tolerate racism of any kind at Franklin Templeton,” they said in a statement.

After a massive backlash Amy issued an apology to NBC News.

“I sincerely and humbly apologise to everyone, especially to that man, his family. It was unacceptable and I humbly and fully apologise 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,” she said.

“When I think about the police, I’m such a blessed person. I’ve come to realise especially today that I think of [the police] as a protection agency, and unfortunately, this has caused me to realise that there are so many people in this country that don’t have that luxury.”

But people aren’t buying her excuse that she didn’t realise black people might not view the police as a “protection agency”.

On the same day the Amy Cooper video was posted, a Minneapolis man named George Floyd was killed by four police officers who pinned him to the ground by his neck while he was handcuffed.