Christian Cooper — a Harvard University grad, former Marvel Comics editor and a current member of the board of directors for the New York City chapter of the Audubon Society, according to reports and the nature organization — wrote on Facebook on Monday:
“Central Park this morning: This woman’s dog is tearing through the plantings in the Ramble.
“ME: Ma’am, dogs in the Ramble have to be on the leash at all times. The sign is right there.
“HER: The dog runs are closed. He needs his exercise.
“ME: All you have to do is take him to the other side of the drive, outside the Ramble, and you can let him run off leash all you want.
“HER: It’s too dangerous.
“ME: Look, 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.
“HER: What’s that?
“ME (to the dog): Come here, puppy!
“HER: He won’t come to you.
Things just went from bad to worse for Central Park 'Karen'
“ME: We’ll see about that…” before adding, “I pull out the dog treats I carry for just for such intransigence. I didn’t even get a chance to toss any treats to the pooch before Karen scrambled to grab the dog.
“HER: DON’T YOU TOUCH MY DOG!!!!!
“That’s when I started video recording with my iPhone, and when her inner Karen fully emerged and took a dark turn..
-then posted vid”
“Karen” refers to the social-media term for white women who call the cops on black people over harmless incidents.
Christian later explained that he pulls the dog-treat ploy on owner scofflaws hoping they’ll leash their pooches to restrain them from taking the goodies, thus getting them to comply with the rule. The Central Park dog-walker, investment banker Amy Cooper, has said she freaked out partly because she was afraid what was in the treats.
Amy was caught on the footage threatening to call the cops on Christian, to which he replied, “Please call the cops.”
Amy screamed back, “I’m going to tell them there’s an African American man threatening my life!” — a claim that has drawn widespread outrage for what critics, including Mayor Bill de Blasio, call its blatant racist undertone.
Christian responded, “Please tell them anything you like.”
Amy proceeded to call 911 and report that an “African American man” was “threatening me and my dog.”