Amy Cooper Sues Former Employer for Racial Discrimination

Amy Cooper, the white dog-walking Manhattan woman who last year went viral after being filmed calling 911 on a Black birdwatcher in Central Park, filed a lawsuit against her former employer, alleging the company discriminated against her because of her race.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, claims that Franklin Templeton, where Cooper worked as a portfolio manager, publicly lied about conducting an internal investigation into the incident, and instead engaged in a coordinated effort to depict her as a racist {snip}

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Noting that the company failed to interview Cooper, the complaint further alleges that “but for [Cooper’s] race,” the company would have performed such an investigation and refrained from making “knowingly false statements” and terminating her employment.

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Amy Cooper, who was promptly dubbed the “Central Park Karen” by social media users, argues in the lawsuit that Christian Cooper (hereafter referred to as “Christian” since they have the same last name) was an “overzealous birdwatcher” who was looking to scare dog owners.

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“It was Christian Cooper’s practice and intent to cause dog owners to be fearful for their safety and the safety of their dogs, and he had a history of doing so to people, including to one African American man who wrote national media stating: when I saw that video, I thought, I cannot imagine if he approached [Plaintiff] the same way how she may have genuinely been afraid for her life,’” the suit stated, referencing comments made by in Cooper’s defense by dog owner Jerome Lockett.

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