Amy Cooper Sues Former Company Over Firing After 911 Call Against Black Man In Central Park
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Amy Cooper, a white woman seen on video threatening to call the cops on a Black man in Central Park, is suing her former employer.
Cooper was fired from her job as a portfolio manager at Franklin Templeton after video of the incident went viral last May.
She is now accusing the company of not conducting an investigation before letting her go because of her race and gender.
In a federal lawsuit, Cooper said the company, "nurtured" the idea of the confrontation as "a racial flashpoint, characterized as a privileged white female 'Karen' caught on video verbally abusing an African American male with no possible reason other than the color of his skin."
She said it wasn't racism that led her to call police but fear, because she was alone and being "aggressively" confronted, and that the company would have known that with an investigation.
"We believe the circumstances of the situation speak for themselves and that the company responded appropriately. We will defend against these baseless claims," Franklin Templeton said in a statement.
The confrontation between Cooper and the man, Christian Cooper -- of no relation -- began over her dog being unleashed in a section of the park where that was prohibited.
Christian Cooper shared video on social media, in which he asked her to move to another part of the park. The encounter then escalated, and she was seen calling police to report an African American man was threatening her life.
Amy Cooper was later charged with filing a false report, but the charge was dismissed in February after she completed a counseling program.
In her lawsuit, she alleges Christian Cooper had a history of confrontations with dog owners over their animals being off-leash, and that it was his "practice and intent to cause dog owners to be fearful for their safety and the safety of their dogs."
Christian Cooper had no comment.
(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
