Franklin Templeton Disavows Racism After Twitter Outrage Over Central Park Incident

Franklin Templeton Investments fired an employee following a confrontation in New York’s Central Park that was caught on video and sparked a discussion on race.

“We do not tolerate racism of any kind,” the firm said in a statement released Tuesday afternoon.

Amy Cooper is the head of insurance investment solutions at Franklin Templeton. In a video shared widely on social media over the weekend, Cooper was shown calling police to report a black man threatening her and her dog while she was walking her dog off-leash in a section of Central Park requiring dogs to be leashed.

The man, Christian Cooper, asked Amy to leash the dog. Instead, she was seen grabbing the dog by its collar and dragging by its harness while using her cell phone to call police and report the man was threatening her. Christian shot cell phone video of Amy as she dragged the dog and called police.

Amy Cooper later apologized for the incident in a phone interview with NBC New York.

“I sincerely and humbly apologize to everyone, especially to that man, his family,” she told the network. “It was unacceptable and I humbly and fully apologize to everyone who’s seen that video, everyone that’s been offended… everyone who thinks of me in a lower light and I understand why they do.”

Franklin Templeton initially placed Amy Cooper on administrative leave pending an investigation of the situation.