NEW YORK (WHDH/AP) — A white woman who faced backlash for calling police on a black man in Central Park has gotten her dog back after surrendering him to the animal rescue where she adopted him.
Abandoned Angels Cocker Spaniel Rescue, Inc. gave Amy Cooper her dog back after they say their veterinarian found him to be in good health.
Amy Cooper surrendered her dog on May 25 after a video circulated of her calling police to report she was being threatened by “an African-American” man.
That man, Christian Cooper, says he was bird watching when he noticed Amy Cooper had let her cocker spaniel off its leash against the rules in the Ramble, a secluded section of Central Park popular with birdwatchers.
In a Facebook post, he claimed the dog was “tearing through the plantings” and told her she should go to another part of the park. When she refused, he pulled out dog treats, causing her to scream at him to not come near her dog.
Amy Cooper also warned him she would summon police unless he stopped recording.
“I’m going to tell them there’s an African-American man threatening my life,” Amy Cooper is heard saying in the video recorded by Christian Cooper.
She proceeded to call the police and said, “There’s an African-American man, I’m in Central Park, he is recording me and threatening myself and my dog. … Please send the cops immediately!”
Police say by the time they responded, they were both gone.
The incident led to Amy Cooper being fired from her job at investment firm Franklin Templeton. They released a statement, saying, “We do not tolerate racism of any kind.”
Amy Cooper issued an apology, saying she “reacted emotionally and made false assumptions about his intentions.”
“He had every right to request that I leash my dog in an area where it was required,” she said in the written statement. “I am well aware of the pain that misassumptions and insensitive statements about race cause and would never have imagined that I would be involved in the type of incident that occurred with Chris.”
She told CNN a day after the incident that, “I am not a racist.”
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