NEW YORK _ The white woman who called cops on a black man in Central Park went to "a racist place," but she doesn't deserve threats on her life, the man she targeted told the New York Daily News.
Christian Cooper said it was a "stressful encounter" when he asked Amy Cooper to leash her dog Monday and she not only refused but whipped out her phone, called 911 and told police an African American man was threatening her life.
"Where she went was a racist place. That action was racist. Does that make her a racist? I can't answer that. Only she can with what she does going forward," the avid birder and former Marvel Comics editor said.
"Maybe she was trying to gain an advantage. She went there, and she needs to reflect on what she did," he said.
Christian Cooper, 57, spoke to the New York Daily News from the roof of his Manhattan building Tuesday, just hours after financial firm Franklin Templeton said it terminated Amy Cooper after conducting an internal review of the caught-on-video confrontation.
"I'm not sure how I feel about that," he said of her firing.
"I can't see how that addresses the underlying issues. I think it's important to move beyond this instance and this one individual. Too much focus has been put on her when it really is about the underlying issues that have plagued this city and this country for centuries. Racial issues," he said.
A graduate of Harvard University's class of 1984, Christian Cooper suggested he's willing to reconsider his assessment of Amy Cooper based on her actions going forward.
"I don't think she was thinking in that moment. I'm very upset she's getting death threats. That's antithetical to the appropriate response," he said.
"If you're upset that she put my life in danger by trying to bring the cops down on a black man, then how can you turn around and make a death threat? That makes no sense. It's downright awful," he told The Daily News.
The video Christian Cooper shot in Central Park's beloved Ramble Monday has been viewed more than 30 million times online and generated widespread outrage.
In a Facebook post, Christian said he started filming after Amy made it clear she had no intention of leashing her cocker spaniel Henry, even though Christian pointed out a sign declaring that was the rule.
Christian said he started to offer her dog a treat to hopefully entice her to reconsider when she went ballistic and said she was "calling the cops."
"I'm going to tell them there's an African American man threatening my life," she says as she starts to dial.
"I'm in the Ramble, and there's a man, African American," she tells the operator, her voice rising with hysteria.
"I'm being threatened," she starts to yell. "Please send the cops immediately!"
Her dog, Henry, is seen thrashing in the video, apparently gasping for air as he was held aloft by his collar in a position that appeared to choke him.
Christian said he was adamant about Amy leashing her dog because he's a dedicated conservationist and board member with the New York City Audubon Society.
"It's a longstanding problem in the Ramble. It is a protected space. The Ramble is a jewel, a remarkable green and growing place that hosts an array of wildlife," he told The Daily News.
"There are clearly posted rules. Dogs have to be on leashes. If there had been regular enforcement, Ms. Cooper and I might have never had our dust-up," he said.
"She was clearly in the wrong. If the police had come, hopefully they would have given her a ticket," he said.
Attempts to reach Amy Cooper were not successful Tuesday.
