Source: @melodyMcooper / Twitter
Amy Cooper became the face of white women filing false police allegations against African Americans early in the coronavirus pandemic when she called the NYPD on Christian Cooper (no relation) who was watching birds in the park.
According to People, the judge in the case dismissed the claim that Amy Cooper was illegally fired and defamed by her former employer after the spring 2020 incident.
Cooper was employed by Franklin Templeton—a private banking company. She alleged that the company failed to investigate the incident and discriminated against her on the basis of her race and sex. She also claimed that the company intentionally inflicted emotional distress on her.
However, Judge Ronnie Abrams of the Southern District of New York dismissed the lawsuit stating that Cooper failed to prove that her termination was racially or gender based.
Cooper and birdwatcher Christian Cooper—who is Black, went viral for an encounter in Central Park when the man claims he asked the woman to put her dog back on a leash in an area of the park where dogs are supposed to be leashed.
Christian Cooper video recorded Amy Cooper who threaten to call the police and tell them that she was being accosted by “an African American man.” The incident evoked historical scenes of white women weaponizing police departments against Black people, men in particular.
During the summer of 2020, Amy Cooper took to television offering an apology, saying, “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 Cooper ultimately accepted the apology and went on to host a television show about bird watching on National Geographic called, Extraordinary Birder.
