White Woman Who Called Cops On African American Birdwatcher Sues Employer For Firing Her

A woman who gained infamy as the “Central Park Karen” has proceeded to sue his former employer for firing her last year. Amy Cooper became famous after a video of her calling the cops on African American birdwatcher Christian Cooper went viral. Since the incident, the woman was fired from her job. The woman claims that the company’s action of firing her was sexist and racist.

On May 25, 2020, Christian was in an area in New York’s Central Park known as The Ramble. Amy had let her dog off the leash in the area even though dogs needed to be leashed there. When Christian told the woman to put the dog on a lead, she refused to cooperate. She ended up calling the police and telling them that an African American man was threatening her.

The video went viral as netizens condemned the woman’s actions as racist. The incident took place the same day as George Floyd’s arrest and death.

As the video gained popularity and call for action, Amy’s employer took steps to distance themselves from the incident. Franklin Templeton, an investment firm, where Amy worked since 2015 put her on administrative leave the day of the incident, the New York Times had reported. The next day, May 26, 2020, the firm Tweeted that Amy had been fired as the company does not tolerate racism.

Following our internal review of the incident in Central Park yesterday, we have made the decision to terminate the employee involved, effective immediately. We do not tolerate racism of any kind at Franklin Templeton.
— Franklin Templeton (@FTI_US) May 26, 2020

A year since her firing, Amy has filed a lawsuit against her former employer for her firing. The lawsuit claims that there was no investigation conducted by the firm before Amy’s firing. The firm has publicly claimed that it had conducted a formal investigation into the incident before the employee was released.

The lawsuit alleges that the firm did not get in touch with any of the individuals involved in the incident. The firm also allegedly did not obtain the full 911 call record from the New York Police Department. On Tuesday, May 25 Amy’s lawsuit is against Franklin Templeton, CEO Jenny Johnson and 10 unnamed individuals. She claims that Johnson helped perpetuate Amy’s image as a privileged white woman, term as “Karen”. The suit claims that she was discriminated against based on her race and gender, People reported.

Franklin Templeton released a statement about defending against the “baseless claims”.