Amy Cooper Sues Former Employer for Racial Discrimination After Being Fired Over Central Park Incident

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It's astounding how quickly Ms Amy became the victim in this scenario considering that she was trying to harm someone and it backfired on her, and especially after all the grace she was shown by her victim and the criminal justice system.

Amy Cooper Sues Former Employer for Racial Discrimination After Being Fired Over Central Park Incident
Amy Cooper Sues Former Employer for Racial Discrimination After Being Fired Over Central Park Incident
Amy Cooper was fired from Franklin Templeton just one day after the video of her encounter with Christian Cooper went viral

By Rachel DeSantis
May 27, 2021 01:20 PM

Amy Cooper

Amy Cooper, the New York City woman who made headlines last year after she called police on a Black birdwatcher in Central Park, has filed suit against her former employer, claiming that the company fired her without properly investigating the incident, and discriminated against her on the basis of her race and sex.

Cooper filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against Franklin Templeton, its CEO and President Jenny Johnson and 10 John Does, accusing the financial services firm of making public statements that "created and nurtured" the characterization of Cooper as "a privileged white female 'Karen.'"

"Franklin Templeton perpetuated and legitimized the story of 'Karen' vs. an innocent African American to its perceived advantage, with reckless disregard for the destruction of Plaintiff's life in the process," the suit, which was obtained by PEOPLE, claims.

In a statement to PEOPLE, a spokesperson for Franklin Templeton says the company stands by its decision.

"We believe the circumstances of the situation speak for themselves and that the Company responded appropriately," the statement says. "We will defend against these baseless claims."

RELATED: Charge Dropped Against Amy Cooper in Central Park Case After Her 'Psychoeducation and Therapy'

Cooper made headlines on May 25, 2020, when an altercation with Black birdwatcher Christian Cooper (no relation) went viral after it was captured on video.

In the video, Amy is seen calling the police on Christian after he asked her to leash her dog in a wooded area of Central Park where dogs are not allowed to be without a leash.

Christian has said that he approached Amy to remind her of the rule and he tried to bait the dog away from the plantings in the area using treats, which is when Amy threatened to tell police she was being accosted by "an African-American man."

Amy was fired from Franklin Templeton, where she'd worked since 2015, the next day in a public statement that said the company "do[es] not tolerate racism of any kind."

The lawsuit alleges that although the company publicly claimed to have conducted an investigation, it never actually did. The suit claims Franklin Templeton never interviewed anyone involved in the altercation, and did not make any attempt to obtain the full 911 calls from the New York Police Department.

RELATED: White Woman Who Called Cops on Black Birdwatcher Asking Her to Leash Her Dog Gets Pet Back

The suit also cites several interviews given by Johnson in the weeks after the incident, in which she discusses the company's "thorough and fair investigation."

The suit claims the company discriminated against Amy based on her race and sex.

"[Franklin Templeton's] announcements to the effect that they had conducted an investigation, and that the investigation concluded indisputably that [Amy] was a racist when [the company] knew they had not conducted an investigation which concluded indisputably that [Amy] was a racist, was extreme and outrageous," the suit claims.

Amy claims that she only called police that day because she "fear[ed] for her safety and the safety of her dog," and that in the year since, her "life has been destroyed by the knowingly false statements" made by Franklin Templeton, and that she has endured suicidal thoughts.

The suit also includes a lengthy statement from a Black man named Jerome Lockett, who claimed to have had a similar encounter with Christian in Central Park involving his off-leash dog.

"Miss Cooper was judged and her life was destroyed without hearing her story, and without hearing Jerome Lockett, who begged national media to report his own experience with Mr. Cooper, and recounted, 'This man IS threatening with his body language and screaming,'" Amy Cooper's attorneys Andrea Paparella and Matthew Litt tell PEOPLE in a statement. "Having personally interacted with Mr. Cooper, Mr. Lockett understood how Miss Cooper could have 'genuinely been afraid for her life,' and 'may not be, like [him], willing to physically defend herself or her dog.' Mr. Lockett said, 'If I wasn't who I was, I would've called the police on that guy too.'"

RELATED: Black Man in Park Video Asks People to Stop Threatening White Woman Who Called Police on Him

Amy initially apologized to Christian shortly after the incident, telling WNBC at the time: "It was unacceptable. And you know words are just words and I can't undo what I did. I sincerely and humbly apologize to everyone. Especially to that man, his family."

Christian, meanwhile, told CNN at the time that he videotaped the encounter "because I thought it was important to document things."

"Unfortunately we live in an era with things like Ahmaud Arbery, where Black men are seen as targets," he said. "This woman thought she could exploit that to her advantage, and I wasn't having it."

In February, a single misdemeanor charge against Amy for falsely reporting an incident in the third degree was reportedly dropped after she completed five "psychoeducation and therapy" sessions.
 
It's astounding how quickly Ms Amy became the victim in this scenario considering that she was trying to harm someone and it backfired on her, and especially after all the grace she was shown by her victim and the criminal justice system.

Amy Cooper Sues Former Employer for Racial Discrimination After Being Fired Over Central Park Incident
Amy Cooper Sues Former Employer for Racial Discrimination After Being Fired Over Central Park Incident
Amy Cooper was fired from Franklin Templeton just one day after the video of her encounter with Christian Cooper went viral

By Rachel DeSantis
May 27, 2021 01:20 PM

Amy Cooper

Amy Cooper, the New York City woman who made headlines last year after she called police on a Black birdwatcher in Central Park, has filed suit against her former employer, claiming that the company fired her without properly investigating the incident, and discriminated against her on the basis of her race and sex.

Cooper filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against Franklin Templeton, its CEO and President Jenny Johnson and 10 John Does, accusing the financial services firm of making public statements that "created and nurtured" the characterization of Cooper as "a privileged white female 'Karen.'"

"Franklin Templeton perpetuated and legitimized the story of 'Karen' vs. an innocent African American to its perceived advantage, with reckless disregard for the destruction of Plaintiff's life in the process," the suit, which was obtained by PEOPLE, claims.

In a statement to PEOPLE, a spokesperson for Franklin Templeton says the company stands by its decision.

"We believe the circumstances of the situation speak for themselves and that the Company responded appropriately," the statement says. "We will defend against these baseless claims."

RELATED: Charge Dropped Against Amy Cooper in Central Park Case After Her 'Psychoeducation and Therapy'

Cooper made headlines on May 25, 2020, when an altercation with Black birdwatcher Christian Cooper (no relation) went viral after it was captured on video.

In the video, Amy is seen calling the police on Christian after he asked her to leash her dog in a wooded area of Central Park where dogs are not allowed to be without a leash.

Christian has said that he approached Amy to remind her of the rule and he tried to bait the dog away from the plantings in the area using treats, which is when Amy threatened to tell police she was being accosted by "an African-American man."

Amy was fired from Franklin Templeton, where she'd worked since 2015, the next day in a public statement that said the company "do[es] not tolerate racism of any kind."

The lawsuit alleges that although the company publicly claimed to have conducted an investigation, it never actually did. The suit claims Franklin Templeton never interviewed anyone involved in the altercation, and did not make any attempt to obtain the full 911 calls from the New York Police Department.

RELATED: White Woman Who Called Cops on Black Birdwatcher Asking Her to Leash Her Dog Gets Pet Back

The suit also cites several interviews given by Johnson in the weeks after the incident, in which she discusses the company's "thorough and fair investigation."

The suit claims the company discriminated against Amy based on her race and sex.

"[Franklin Templeton's] announcements to the effect that they had conducted an investigation, and that the investigation concluded indisputably that [Amy] was a racist when [the company] knew they had not conducted an investigation which concluded indisputably that [Amy] was a racist, was extreme and outrageous," the suit claims.

Amy claims that she only called police that day because she "fear[ed] for her safety and the safety of her dog," and that in the year since, her "life has been destroyed by the knowingly false statements" made by Franklin Templeton, and that she has endured suicidal thoughts.

The suit also includes a lengthy statement from a Black man named Jerome Lockett, who claimed to have had a similar encounter with Christian in Central Park involving his off-leash dog.

"Miss Cooper was judged and her life was destroyed without hearing her story, and without hearing Jerome Lockett, who begged national media to report his own experience with Mr. Cooper, and recounted, 'This man IS threatening with his body language and screaming,'" Amy Cooper's attorneys Andrea Paparella and Matthew Litt tell PEOPLE in a statement. "Having personally interacted with Mr. Cooper, Mr. Lockett understood how Miss Cooper could have 'genuinely been afraid for her life,' and 'may not be, like [him], willing to physically defend herself or her dog.' Mr. Lockett said, 'If I wasn't who I was, I would've called the police on that guy too.'"

RELATED: Black Man in Park Video Asks People to Stop Threatening White Woman Who Called Police on Him

Amy initially apologized to Christian shortly after the incident, telling WNBC at the time: "It was unacceptable. And you know words are just words and I can't undo what I did. I sincerely and humbly apologize to everyone. Especially to that man, his family."

Christian, meanwhile, told CNN at the time that he videotaped the encounter "because I thought it was important to document things."

"Unfortunately we live in an era with things like Ahmaud Arbery, where Black men are seen as targets," he said. "This woman thought she could exploit that to her advantage, and I wasn't having it."

In February, a single misdemeanor charge against Amy for falsely reporting an incident in the third degree was reportedly dropped after she completed five "psychoeducation and therapy" sessions.
I hope she doesn't get a dime. The charges against her should be reinstated.
 

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