Amy Cooper Sues Ex-Employer, Alleging Racial Discrimination

CENTRAL PARK, NY — Amy Cooper, the white woman who set off a national firestorm last year when she called the police on a Black birdwatcher in Central Park, has filed a federal suit against her former employer, alleging they fired her unjustly in the wake of the controversy.

In the suit, filed Tuesday in a Manhattan court, Cooper accuses her old company — the investment firm Franklin Templeton — of committing racial discrimination for terminating her before properly investigating the claims made by Christian Cooper, the birdwatcher.

That firing amounted to racial discrimination against Cooper herself, the suit alleges, because it perpetuated the image of her "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."

Her complaint also takes aim at Christian Cooper, saying he had in fact escalated the May 25, 2020 exchange as a "birdwatcher with a history of aggressively confronting dog owners in Central Park who walked their dogs without a leash."

Meanwhile, Franklin Templeton pledged hours after the Memorial Day incident that it would investigate what happened. The company fired Cooper the next day, saying it had completed the review.

Amy Cooper's attorney, Matthew Litt, claims no real investigation ever happened, adding that the company never interviewed Christian Cooper or anyone else.

If Franklin Templeton had read the minutes of previous New York City Park Board meetings, meanwhile, it would have discovered a previous altercation between Christian Cooper and unleashed dog walkers in the park, the suit claims.

"Baseless claims"

The suit asks Franklin Templeton to compensate Cooper with back pay, emotional distress damages and other costs, her attorneys wrote.

In a statement to other news outlets, Franklin Templeton said that "the circumstances of the situation speak for themselves" and that "the Company responded appropriately.

"We will defend against these baseless claims,” the company added.

After initially charging Cooper with falsely reporting an incident, District Attorney Cy Vance dropped the charges in February after she completed a restorative justice program.

Video footage of the Memorial Day incident was shared widely after being posted to Facebook by Christian Cooper's sister. In the video, the birdwatcher remains calm as Amy Cooper frantically tells police that she is in danger.

At the beginning of the video, Christian Cooper asks Amy Cooper not to approach him and says, "please call the cops" and "tell them whatever you like" after her initial threat to do so.

"I'm in the Ramble and there's a man — African-American — he has a bicycle helmet. He's recording me and threatening me and my dog," Cooper can be heard telling a dispatcher. "I'm being threatened by a man in the Ramble, please send the cops immediately," she continues in a distressed voice.

Amy Cooper faced a swift cultural backlash for her actions, with observers arguing that she was attempting to inflict violence on Christian Cooper by summoning police to search for him. Cooper lost her job despite issuing a public apology on national news.

Christian Cooper, for his part, has expressed ambivalence about efforts to charge Amy Cooper, writing in a Washington Post op-ed that he would not aid the prosecution, which he said "lets white people off the hook" for broader issues of systemic racism.

Previous coverage:

• Charges Against 'Central Park Karen' Amy Cooper Dismissed: DA
• Amy Cooper Hit With 2nd Charge Of False 911 Call On Black Birder
  
• Black Birdwatcher Police Call Inspires Bias Bill
  
• Dog Returned To Woman Who Called Cops On Black Birdwatcher