White woman who called cops on Black man in viral video apologizes, but Twitter isn’t buying it

Over the weekend, a video of area white woman Amy Cooper went viral on social media after she threatened to call the police on a Black birdwatcher following an altercation about her unleashed dog in a leashed dog park.

“I’m taking a picture and calling the cops. I’m going to tell them there’s an African American man threatening my life” said Amy Cooper to Christian Cooper (no relation), who had politely asked her to please keep her dog on a leash — as per the rules in the Ramble section of Central Park, New York City.

The video immediately provoked widespread outrage on social media, and for good reason.

Cooper’s threat would have put the man’s life in immediate danger, given the excessive and horrifying violence with which police officers tend to respond to any report involving a black man.

The woman apologized to the world on Tuesday, claiming that she “wasn’t racist” and “did not mean to harm that man in any way.”

“I think I was just scared. When you’re alone in the Ramble, you don’t know what’s happening. It’s not excusable, it’s not defensible,” admitted Cooper to CNN.

The full implication of her threat to lie to the police and tell them that Cooper was threatening her was made appallingly clear on Tuesday morning with the release of an unrelated video of a Minneapolis police officer pressing his knee into a Black man’s neck.

The man later died.

One of the most disturbing developments of the quarantine period is how it has had little effect on the frequency of violence against African-Americans while they suffer the brunt of casualties from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ahmaud Arbery was murdered in cold blood on video by two white men — and police did nothing until the video was released to the public.

Breonna Taylor, an EMT worker, was asleep in her home when police busted in late at night with a no-knock warrant. When her boyfriend began to fire at the intruders, thinking they were burglars, the police began shooting back blindly and killed Taylor with eight bullets — and arrested her boyfriend for attempted murder.

Now this as-yet-unidentified black man from Minneapolis joins the long list of African Americans who have been murdered by the institutions and agents of white supremacy — and Cooper is lucky he did not meet the same fate.

Social media did not buy the dog-walker’s apology one bit:

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Colin Taylor

Managing Editor

Colin Taylor is the managing editor of the Washington Press. He graduated from Bennington College with a Bachelor's degree in history and political science. He now focuses on advancing the cause of social justice, equality, and universal health care in America.