Video of a white woman calling the police on a black man for telling her to leash her dog went viral and the public outrage led to her dog being taken away.
The video was posted to Twitter by the sister of the man who was accosted by the woman in the park. He says that he told her to leash her dog according to the rules of the park through which they were walking.
The woman appeared to be angered by the suggestion and threatened to call the police, saying, "I'm going to tell them there's an African American man threatening my life."
The video shows her calling the police and claiming that an African American man was threatening her life.
The man said, "thank you!" after she put a leash on the dog and ended the recording.
The video quickly went viral with more than 8 million views:
Oh, when Karens take a walk with their dogs off leash in the famous Bramble in NY’s Central Park, where it is clear… https://t.co/zFb3O0cClz— Melody Cooper (@Melody Cooper)1590426192.0
Some on social media were angered with how she treated her dog during the heated exchange, while others fumed over the threat she made to call the police and tell them her life was being threatened.
An NYPD spokeswoman said that police did respond to the altercation, but "both parties went on their way" with no arrests.
"Upon arrival, police determined two individuals had engaged in a verbal dispute," Sergeant Mary Frances O'Donnell said.
Woman on leave, dog removed
Online sleuths went to work and began to pummel Franklin Templeton over a rumor that the woman worked for the investment firm.
The company said they were investigating the matter and placed the employee in question on leave.
In response to an incident involving an employee on May 25th, Franklin Templeton issued the following statement. https://t.co/8f2lMwK0r5— Franklin Templeton (@Franklin Templeton)1590461004.0
"We take these matters very seriously, and we do not condone racism of any kind. While we are in the process of investigating the situation, the employee involved has been put on administrative leave," the statement read.
Another organization, Abandoned Angels Cocker Spaniel Rescue, indicated in a statement that the dog in question had been surrendered back to their care after they were bombarded with online complaints about its treatment.
"As of this evening, the owner has voluntarily surrendered the dog in question to our rescue while this matter is being addressed," their officials social media account read.
Thank you to the concerned public for reaching out to us about a video involving a dog that was adopted from our re… https://t.co/AMCfkPS2kh— Abandoned Angels (@Abandoned Angels)1590456915.0
"Our mission remains the health and safety of our rescued dogs. The dog is now in our rescue's care and he is safe and in good health. We will not be responding to any further inquiries about the situation, either publicly or privately," they added in a second tweet.
Many on social media questioned why she wasn't cited or arrested for making a false report to the police, and they demanded she face legal consequences for her actions.
