Group Wants Central Park Ban For Woman Who Called Cops On Birder

CENTRAL PARK, NY — A group of Manhattan residents are calling on the city to enforce a lifetime ban against a white woman who called the police on a black birdwatcher in Central Park after being told to keep her dog on a leash in the park's Ramble.

The Central Park South Civic Association — which was established to oppose a homeless shelter on Billionaire's Row — said in a statement Tuesday that Amy Cooper's actions "blatant racism." Video of Cooper calling the police on black birdwatcher Christian Cooper on Monday morning has been viewed millions of times on social media platforms.

“This disgusting display of intolerance is unacceptable and should never, ever be accepted in the City’s public domain like Central Park. The Central Park Civic Association condemns this behavior and is calling on Mayor de Blasio to impose a lifetime ban on this lady for her deliberate, racial misleading of law enforcement," Central Park South Civic Association President Michael Fischer said in a statement.

Cooper has been fired from her job, surrendered her dog back to an adoption agency and apologized for her actions on national news programs since the video was uploaded Monday afternoon.

The altercation between Cooper and bird watcher Christian Cooper — no relation — started when the birder asked Cooper to leash her dog in the Ramble.

In a Facebook post, Christian Cooper wrote that he approached Amy Cooper because her dog was "tearing through the plantings" in the ramble. When Cooper declined to leash her dog, Christian Cooper said "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 began to offer dog treats to Cooper's cocker spaniel.

Christian Cooper told CNN that he keeps dog treats on him because offering them to unleashed dogs usually get their owners to restrain them on the leash. The birder told CNN that he was "actually pretty calm," during his entire interaction with the dog owner.

Video of the ensuing altercation between Christian Cooper and Amy Cooper shows that the bird watcher remained that calm even as the woman called the police on him. At the beginning of the video, Christian Cooper tells Amy not to approach him and says "please call the cops" and "tell them whatever you like" after an initial threat to do so.

"I'm in the Ramble and there's a man — African-American — he has a bicycle helmet. He's recording me and threatening me and my dog," Amy Cooper says after calling the police.
"I'm being threatened by a man in the Ramble, please send the cops immediately," Cooper continues in a distressed voice.