Woman who falsely accused Black bird watcher in Central Park sues ex-employer

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

NEW YORK (Reuters) -The white woman who falsely told police that a Black bird-watcher threatened her in New York City's Central Park sued her former employer Franklin Templeton, saying it fired her without doing a fair investigation and falsely portrayed her as racist.

Amy Cooper said in a Tuesday night complaint that Franklin Templeton's actions following the May 25, 2020, encounter substantially harmed her career, and caused such severe emotional distress that she became suicidal.

"Plaintiff's personal and professional life has been destroyed by the knowingly false statements defendants made," said the complaint filed in Manhattan federal court.

Cooper, 41, who had been an insurance portfolio manager, is seeking unspecified damages for race and gender discrimination, defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/woman-falsely-accused-black-bird-140335391.html

[Treefrog]

1. Wow, no words.

Hope this is thrown out as the trash it is.

[twin_ghost]

4. No, The insurance company will settle it for a few thousand dollars.

Litigation is expensive, so paying out less then what it costs to go to court is normal in these kind of civil cases.

[SoCalDavidS]

2. Congrats To Her Lawyer

He might even make a few bucks off her. Assuming she actually pays.

[radical noodle]

5. In cases like that

it often comes off the top before she sees a penny.

[TheBlackAdder]

9. Don't the checks go to the attorney who then distributes the remains to the client?

[radical noodle]

10. I don't have tons of experience

but every case like that I've seen goes to the attorney first.

[Ms. Toad]

29. Generally. n/t

[lagomorph777]

3. Thoughts and prayers.

I thought she was an asshole, and my prayers were answered when they fired her.

[marble falls]

6. She got off easily since she was trying to get him arrested and jailed. Some people are ...

... incapable of learning how lucky they were. The victim was very, very forgiving.

[Bettie]

26. And she could have just, oh, I don't know,

put a leash on her dog and gone on about her day?

[marble falls]

27. Too bad the right thing just never occurs to some people.

[Bettie]

31. And yet, there are people right here on DU

saying she did the right thing by calling the police and lying to them.

[Marcuse]

7. Her exposure as a liar was bad for the insurance business.

[Crunchy Frog]

8. Maybe people should think a little bit before making racist asses of themselves in public.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

11. This was a case where I thought the racism accusations were poorly supported

She was still a dick, but depending on what her former employer actually said and did, I might support her case.

[brush]

14. Did you not see the video? Her blatant racism was openly displayed.

She could've cost the Black man his life given all the killings of unarmed Black men across the nation. And then having a white woman being the accuser was even more of a threat to that particular Black man's life.

The video definitely supports charges of racism.

If that's not racism, what do you call it?

[Hugh_Lebowski]

15. I did, and if all I saw was the video, I would feel differently ... but ...

Christian asked Amy to leash her dog, and she allegedly refused. By his own account, Christian then said, "Look, if you're going to do what you want, I'm going to do what I want, but you're not going to like it," and beckoned the dog toward him with a dog treat.[3] Amy then yelled, "Don't you touch my dog!"[3] Christian then began recording on his cellphone.

The fact that this preceded the video makes me feel a bit differently. You're a woman alone in a Park, and a man, obviously larger than you, says something like this to you, and starts luring your dog?

Why didn't HE call the police about her unleashed dog?

Ergo, I'm granting a little leeway for an overreaction on her part. She didn't use a racial slur, and the fact of the matter is ... he was an African American man.

Seemed like she was trying to leverage the fact that he would be frightened of the police to get him to leave her and her dog alone.

I don't think it's quite as cut and dry as it appears from the video alone.

MHO, ymmv.

[brush]

16. That's one way of looking at it.

[lame54]

23. Do we know that really happened?...

First Im hearing about it

If true it does change things a bit

Either way - I don't think anyone should call the police on an unleashed dog

[Hugh_Lebowski]

35. Its from the Wiki but my opinion is predicated on it being true, so ... (nt)

[brush]

38. Anybody can put anything on wiki. I'm skeptical of that...

as it sounds like something she put there after the fact. I mean it must've been her since no one else was there. Seems it would have come out at the time of the story to explain she wasn't really being racist.

So why is this the first we've heard of this? That would've been the first thing I'd yell from the roof tops to keep my job and not be labeled a blatant racist.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

42. If that part is not true, then I entirely retract what I've said. Fair enough?

This is the original article. Yes, it's the NY Post, but given it seems to be simply a recount of what he posted on Facebook, I'm inclined in this case to think it's accurate.

https://nypost.com/2020/05/26/christian-cooper-recounts-amy-cooper-incident-before-video-footage/

[StarfishSaver]

30. Trying to get a Black man to change his behavior by making him afraid of being abused by the police

because he's Black isn't racist?

[Hugh_Lebowski]

40. I'm saying I'd consider the possibility, under the circumstances, that she panicked and acted

in a manner that's not necessarily true to her character. Maybe it was, but it's possible it wasn't.

If this is, in fact, true:

Christian asked Amy to leash her dog, and she allegedly refused. By his own account, Christian then said, "Look, if you're going to do what you want, I'm going to do what I want, but you're not going to like it," and beckoned the dog toward him with a dog treat.[3] Amy then yelled, "Don't you touch my dog!"[3] Christian then began recording on his cellphone

I'm inclined to cut a woman at little bit of slack, under these circumstances, no matter the race of the male. That is a pretty fucking scary thing to hear from a man in a park when you're alone.

Has anyone else who knows her spoken up about her behaving like a racist otherwise? Any Social Media evidence? I've not heard of any, but if I'm wrong on that, it would of course influence my opinion.

That said, I certainly wouldn't deign to tell you how you should feel about it SS, and I'd say that it was a racist thing to say, but not proof positive she is, as a person, in fact, a racist, under the conditions as I understand them.

[StarfishSaver]

48. You're willing to cut the white woman some slack for engaging in racist behavior

While NOT giving any deference to the Black man whose life she put in danger.

Gotcha.

FYI, she wasn't alone in the park with the man. She was in the park with plenty of people around in the middle of the day. She was in no danger at all and any danger she may have perceived was based solely on the fact that this person was Black, not because he was a man. Otherwise, there would have been no need for her to repeatedly refer to him as an "African American" - unless she thought that his race made him more of a threat to her.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

53. I totally get your point. She was a dick, and there were definitely racist overtones

without question.

I just don't know that I'm concluding that she must BE a racist, when I can understand a woman panicking under the totality of the circumstances. A man saying to you that 'he's going to do what he wants and you're not going to like it' is pretty friggin scary to a woman. Someone breaking out food from their pocket and trying to lure your dog right after? Also pretty scary for a woman.

And 'people around' ... in New York City? That doesn't mean much.

Has anyone else stepped up to a microphone and said they know her, and she acts like a racist otherwise? Any nasty social media posts come to light? I have not heard of either, but if you know different, please enlighten me.

Not telling you how to feel SS, I get where you're coming from.

If you told me the exact same thing happened to you, and it was a white man, and he'd said those words and tried to lure your dog? I'd cut you a TON of slack WRT how you reacted.

I'll leave it at that.

[Bettie]

56. Has anyone stepped up and said

"This is not like her at all!"?

She CHOSE not to leash her dog when he asked...she was not in an off-leash area. She could have avoided the entire situation by simply not being an asshole. So, then, she doubled down and tried to use the police to punish him for daring to ask her to follow the rules.

Also, in the video, she didn't treat her dog well at all. How a person treats an animal says a lot about what kind of person they are.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

60. She was a total dick, no question. I don't know if anyone came to her defense ...

And these are fair points.

But he said and did things that would logically be perceived by a woman, out alone, as threatening.

I'm inclined to cut a woman in that situation a little bit of slack.

But you, of course, are not obliged to consider it as I am choosing to

[wellst0nev0ter]

76. She was being racist. End of story

That that people can't accept the blatantly obvious, and that you are trying to absolve the woman by casting Mr. Cooper as "threatening" shows why we have all these problems in this country.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

77. I am not 'absolving' her

Mr Cooper has *admitted words and actions* that a reasonable person would perceive as threatening that happened immediately prior to the video.

If he hadn't done anything threatening I would've never started this conversation. You don't pull treats out of your pocket and try to lure someone's dog over, immediately after saying 'you might not like what I do'. I mean, come on.

I am only saying that when I view what she did in the video with the understanding of what happened immediately before, I see what certainly looks like racism, but then I also see a woman panicking because she feels threatened, and it was not unreasonable for her to feel that way, given the sequence of events ... no matter what color the man was.

MHO, ymmv.

[StarfishSaver]

57. "Racist overtones" is racism

And saying, "aside from that racist thing she did, is there any other conclusive proof that she's done anything racist?" doesn't cut it.

I can't help but notice you're very willing to give her the benefit of the doubt because women are sometimes afraid of men - but you've given no consideration to what that Black man felt when faced with being accused of assault by a white woman.

A white woman who falsely accuses a Black man of threatening and assaulting her can't be viewed in a vacuum but must be considered in full light of the horrendous history of Black men being tortured, lynched, run out of town, etc. because a white woman pointed her finger at him and said "He's the one" and everyone chose to believe her. She obviously was fully aware of that - that's why she used her whiteness and his blackness against him in the most vicious way - that's the ONLY way to view a white woman telling a Black man "I'm going to call the police and tell them an African-American man is threatening me." She knew EXACTLY what she was doing and what she did was racist AF.

Sorry, not sorry - but a white woman who falsely accuses a Black man of assault gets absolutely no benefit of the doubt from me. She deserves nothing but disgust and rebukes from any decent person.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

63. If you were out walking your dog alone and a white man said to you as follows

“ME: Look, if you’re going to do what you want, I’m going to do what I want, but you’re not going to like it.
“HER: What’s that?
“ME (to the dog): Come here, puppy!
“HER: He won’t come to you.
“ME: We’ll see about that…” before adding, “I pull out the dog treats I carry for just for such intransigence. I didn’t even get a chance to toss any treats to the pooch before Karen scrambled to grab the dog.

And tried to lure your dog with a treat he pulled from his pocket, and you reported to 911 that a white man assaulted you, I wouldn't say a negative word about what you'd done. I'd defend you to the end. Especially if, when the police arrived, you immediately reported that he'd not physically harmed you and that your initial call was inaccurate. As was the case here.

What Is Assault?
Assault is sometimes defined as any intentional act that causes another person to fear that she is about to suffer physical harm. This definition recognizes that placing another person in fear of imminent bodily harm is itself an act deserving of punishment, even if the victim of the assault is not physically harmed. This definition also allows police officers to intervene and make an arrest without waiting for the assaulter to actually strike the victim.

https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/assault-battery-aggravated-assault-33775.html

[StarfishSaver]

65. You're trying too hard

Not a good look. You might want to just let this go.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

67. Sometimes, I don't 'look good'. I've learned to live with it.

I hope you know I always dig what you have to say SS, and your arguments tend to be very well-reasoned. I appreciate that.

[uponit7771]

68. then her company can legally fire her for being a racist dick, case closed

[LanternWaste]

52. Not surprising people you allow her unsupported benefits of doubt

while denying the same nuanced benefits to only other major player in the story. I mean we get it... offering a dog, in a dog park, a treat is a "pretty fucking scary thing to hear" if we wish it hard enough.



Nope, just not surprising at all.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

58. First off, it was not a dog park. Also, that is omitting an important part of the story

In what appears to be his own account on Facebook ...

“ME: Look, if you’re going to do what you want, I’m going to do what I want, but you’re not going to like it.

“HER: What’s that?

“ME (to the dog): Come here, puppy!

“HER: He won’t come to you.

“ME: We’ll see about that…” before adding, “I pull out the dog treats I carry for just for such intransigence. I didn’t even get a chance to toss any treats to the pooch before Karen scrambled to grab the dog.

So the gentleman, prior to the video, says he told the lone woman in the park that he was 'going to do what he wanted', and she 'wasn't going to like it', and proceeded to try to lure her dog with treats.

That doesn't ... change things at all for you?

I have to admit, it kinda does for me. I can consider the possibility that she panicked and behaved in a way that's maybe not reflective of her character. Maybe it is ... but maybe not.

Like I said, MHO, ymmv.

[uponit7771]

32. "leverage the fact that he would be frightened of the police", that's racist af

[RobinA]

18. I Call It

a woman alone in Central Park who encountered a man who arguably threatened her and messed with her dog, who probably made her feel safer. Many men don't really understand what a woman will regard as threatening when she is by herself. I'm not saying he did anything wrong, but this is a case of two parties, neither one of whom had any understanding of the other's perception of what he/she was doing.

[brush]

19. Hogwash. A white woman with a cell phone calling police...

Last edited Wed May 26, 2021, 05:50 PM - Edit history (2)

on them is the most dangerous person on the Earth to unarmed, innocent Black men...besides killer cops.

And many know that very well, which is displayed openly on the video when she screams and cries on the phone to police that it's a Black man threatening her.

[StarfishSaver]

33. You forgot an important fact

She didn't call the police and tell them a man was bothering her. She called them and said a BLACK man was bothering her. And she described him as Black long before she needed to describe him so the police would know what he looked like.

In fact, she told him she was going to call the police and tell them an African American man was bothering her. Why did she say that if this had nothing to do with race?

Attitudes like yours are one of the main reasons police get away with murdering innocent Black people a d too many white people get away with blatant discrimination. You and another person here have twisted themselves into the absurdest of knots in an effort to give the benefit of the doubt to a white woman who unquestionably behaved in a blatantly racist manner.

It is disgusting but instructive to see how some white people will, no matter what, circle the wagons to protect their skinfolk.

[yardwork]

41. This white older woman says that's bullshit.

She's recorded sobbing and crying into the phone claiming a black man is assaulting her. Shades of Emmett Till. No excuse.

[yardwork]

44. Added... that bitty little dog she was abusing?

I don't think she needed it for safety.

[StarfishSaver]

50. She wasn't alone. There were people around

And he wasn't doing anything even remotely threatening.

If her problem was that he was a man, she would have just told the police a man was harassing her instead of an "African-American man" and she certainly wouldn't have confronted him with a threat to call the police and tell them a Black man was assaulting her.

I can't even believe this has to be said.

[uponit7771]

69. She inserted his race into the her story and did it on purpose, you know that

[LongtimeAZDem]

22. YGTBFKM

‘The defendant twice reported that an African American man was putting her in danger, first by stating that he was threatening her and her dog, then in a second call indicating that he tried to assault her in the Ramble area of the park,’ said assistant district attorney Joan Illuzzi-Orbon during Cooper’s arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

47. The report of the second call was later retracted as inaccurate and was in fact a call back from 911

There's no evidence she called a second time, nor that she said on that call BACK ... that the man tried to assault her.

An African American man did, in fact, say things to her that could very logically be perceived as threats to her and her dog.

I've paid fairly close attention to the facts as they've come out on this story.

[StarfishSaver]

62. Ok, she made ONE false, racist report, not two.

And you have yet to explain why she lied to the police and told them an "African American man" was threatening her or why she told him she was going to tell the police a Black man was assaulting her. That was not an innocuous threat or accusation, no matter how much you try to ignore what she said.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

64. I replied to a different post of yours below ... lets keep it to one thread if we can :) nt

[StarfishSaver]

28. You think telling a Black man she's going to call the police and tell them a Black man is harassing

and then calling the police and telling them a Black man assaulted her isn't racist.

Please do share with us your innocuous, non-racist reason for doing this.

We'll wait.

[yardwork]

39. I thought the racism was quite apparent in the recording.

She called 911 and shrieked that a black man was attacking her. Doesn't get more racist than that.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

46. In what appears to be his own account on Facebook ...

“ME: Look, if you’re going to do what you want, I’m going to do what I want, but you’re not going to like it.

“HER: What’s that?

“ME (to the dog): Come here, puppy!

“HER: He won’t come to you.

Things just went from bad to worse for Central Park 'Karen'

“ME: We’ll see about that…” before adding, “I pull out the dog treats I carry for just for such intransigence. I didn’t even get a chance to toss any treats to the pooch before Karen scrambled to grab the dog.

So the gentleman, prior to the video, says he told the lone woman in the park that he was 'going to do what he wanted', and she 'wasn't going to like it', and proceeded to try to lure her dog with treats.

That doesn't ... change things at all for you?

I have to admit, it kinda does for me. I can consider the possibility that she panicked and behaved in a way that's maybe not reflective of her character. Maybe it is ... but maybe not.

Like I said, MHO, ymmv.

[yardwork]

49. Oh please. Look at the recording of her calling 911.

She's shrieking that a black man is attacking her while he stands there recording. No threat whatsoever.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

51. I'm just saying it's possible she panicked because he appears to have admitted he said something

threatening immediately prior to the call.

She acted like a dick to be sure, but I'm inclined to cut any woman some slack when they're alone in a park, and a man says something threatening to her, and tries to lure her dog with food he pulls out of his pocket.

I'd do it for you, too.

But, of course, you don't have to do, I'm just sharing my thinking on it.

[StarfishSaver]

61. She panicked because he was Black

Why do you keep ignoring the fact that she told him she was going to call the police and tell them an African-American man was threatening her - and then did just that?

She did it because she knows that in this America, a white woman will be believed and cops will almost always take her word over a Black man - and she knew he knew it, too. She did it because she knew he had reason to fear the police in a way no white person does. And she lied to the police because she was sure they'd believe her and likely abuse this Black man for something he did not do.

I don't see how you can look at what she said and then pretend that racism wasn't the driving factor of her behavior. If this wasn't about race, why would she even mention that he was Black?

[uponit7771]

71. or cause he's black? Come on people, are we listening to ourselves?! tia

[uponit7771]

70. +1, especially it not being even close to true

[Hugh_Lebowski]

72. What's not true is that she 'shrieked he was attacking her'.

She shrieked he was filming and threatening her and her dog. The video is there for all to see.

And the truth is, he did say and even do things that could have reasonably been perceived as a threat to her and her dog, immediately prior to the video. He said as much on his Facebook.

Otherwise I've have never remotely tried to understand this woman.

It was later, off-camera, when the 911 operator called her back and she apparently used the word assault (which is not synonymous with attack).

When the cops arrived, she corrected the record and admitted what she said on the return phone call was inaccurate when she'd used the word assaulted.

The contents of that return phone call are are why she was prosecuted for making a false report.

[uponit7771]

73. +1, I do remember this too. Yeah, her employer had a lot of reasons to fire her ...

... including calling out the bird watchers race in a lie to the police

[Hugh_Lebowski]

75. I absolutely do NOT disagree with her being fired one iota ...

I said that, depending what they said publicly, it's possible I would support her case.

It's possible it was above and beyond what was fair for an employer to say about someone they let go.

I would be keen to see what her argument is, and what they said exactly.

[LeftInTX]

74. She was charged for filing a false police report

Charges were dropped after she completed therapy with instructions regarding racial bias.

So yeah....It really happened.....

[brush]

12. Boo hoo hoo. She bought that on herself. Too bad, so sad.

She'll get a few thousand but it'll never make up for salary already lost, plus future salary level she'll never get back to, not to mention her reputation and future job prospects her racism caused.

[StClone]

13. I doubt Employee Code of Conduct agreement covers this as a violation

And I doubt the company will counter sue for behavior off the job for putting them in poor light or giving indication they hire bad employees. But, she will get little or nothing-even if she prevails.

[RobinA]

17. Is NY

an at-will state?

I hope she is successful, but if it is I doubt she has a chance. I don't think that people should be able to be fired because a howling Internet mob labels you as something. Or really, for any personal conduct that is not work-related or indicating a danger to people at work.

[StarfishSaver]

34. She wasn't fired because of a howling internet mob

She was fired for making a false police report and engaging in behavior that was racist AF and put a man's life on danger.

[yardwork]

45. No words.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

54. "At-will" is an understanding of federal labor law and has little to do with what state you're in.

[LiberalFighter]

20. New York has employment at will. Can fire an employee for no reason.

[hardluck]

37. She can be fired for any reason or no reason at all so long as it was not unlawful

She alleges race/gender discrimination as the cause, making her termination unlawful. We'll see how this plays out. Sounds like a weak case but it will have settlement value given the company's retention on its EPL insurance is probably in the 250k and above range and the attorney's fees, even defending a bs case, will be in the 6 figures.

[Voltaire2]

21. He should not have let her off the hook.

His generosity in not pressing charges has left her in the position of being able to claim that nothing happened.

[StarfishSaver]

36. Don't put this on his shoulders.

This is all on her. It's not up to him to further traumatize himself because the system might not fully penalize her to the degree she deserves.

[yardwork]

43. This. Not the black man's fault.

Sheesh. How many ways can white people try to blame this on the black man, a mild-mannered bird watcher who was exceptionally polite and calm under severe provocation?

Embarrassing. White America, do better.

Signed, older white woman.

[MichMan]

55. What was his purpose for luring her dog after having a conflict with her?

[brush]

66. She was in a birder area of the park where unleased dogs, who kill birds,...

are banned. She wouldn't leave after he told her so and also pointed out a nearby sign that stated the same. He carried the dog treats to try to get dogs to come out of the area.

To say that she overreacted by calling police and shrieking and crying into her cell phone that a Black man was attacking her and her dog is an understatement to say the least.

[StarfishSaver]

59. The extent people are going to to excuse this white woman's dangerous racist behavior is disgusting

Further examples of the propensity of some white people to circle the wagons around their skinfolk, regardless how egregious their behavior. Tribalism at it's worst, even among people who should know better.

[Voltaire2]

78. that's a fair point.

However, it remains a fact that she can claim nothing happened as no charges were filed. I agree it is not his fault, I just wish he hadn't been so generous.