White woman who was fired from her job after confrontation with black man in Brooklyn dog park apologizes and admits she could have 'handled things differently' but denies 'racial undertones'
A white woman who was fired from her job after telling a black couple to 'stay in [their] hood' has apologized but denied her comments had 'racial undertones'.
Emma Sarley was filmed by author Frederick Joseph after an altercation at a Brooklyn dog park on Sunday.
In a statement to the press, Sarley said she 'had not intended racial undertones in my comments whatsoever' when she confronted Joseph and his fiancé at McCarren Park in Williamsburg.
Her comments came after Joseph was criticised for using his platform unethically in an attempt to identify Sarley and secure punishment.
Nikole Hannah-Jones, one of the most influential anti-racism voices in the U.S., wrote on Twitter: 'This... doesn't feel right.'
'This didn't sit right with me and does not seem like an ethical use of one's platform,' the New York Times Magazine journalist said.
Johnson later defended his actions, saying it was 'unfortunate' that Sarley lost her job but that the incident brought up 'an important conversation about accountability'.
A white woman who was fired from her job after telling a black couple to 'stay in [their] hood' has apologized but denied her comments had 'racial undertones'. Emma Sarley was filmed by author Frederick Joseph after an altercation at a Brooklyn dog park on Sunday
In the footage Joseph can be heard saying: 'You just left the dog park to tell us to stay in our hood?'. Sarley then appears to clutch her chest and says: 'Oh my God, did you just say that to me? S**t'
In her statement, Sarley said she 'absolutely' accepted responsibility for 'how I could have handled things differently' but wanted to share her version of events.
Sarley claimed she had seen a dog at her local park getting into 'several aggressive altercations with other dogs'.
'As the owners of this dog were leaving, I suggested that they keep a handle on their dog while visiting this particular park.
'My reference to "back to your hood" only referred to another dog park outside of this neighborhood park,' Sarley claimed.
'I had no intended racial undertones in my comments whatsoever,' Sarley said in her statement, adding that it was a 'unstated rule' at that particular park that owners should take their dogs away if they're acting aggressively.
'I fully understand how my words could've been interpreted and I deeply wish I had chosen them more carefully. A brief and thoughtless moment in my life has now led to nationwide outrage and hurt. For that, I am sorry.'
Sarley went on to say that she 'reacted in an inappropriate way' when Johnson followed her filming on his phone.
'As the dog owners followed me down the street with the phone camera on, I was filled with some panic because I've never been in an altercation like this and reacted in an inappropriate way. That's what you witnessed on that tape.'
In the tape, Sarley can be seen giving the middle finger to the camera and apparently trying to knock it out of Johnson's hand.
Further insisting her comments were not intended to be racist, Sarley said: 'I've lived in New York City for a decade, my Brooklyn neighborhood and dog park is extremely diverse, something I truly love about this city, and I never meant for my words to contribute to pain for anyone. I truly hope we can find understanding and a peaceful resolution to this, for everyone involved.'
On Monday, it emerged that Sarley had been fired from her job at a software company following the furore over the incident. She did not comment on this in her statement.
The incident in the dog park came to light after Johnson posted footage of its aftermath to Twitter.
The post sparked an online campaign to identify the woman and calls for her to lose her job.
But Johnson also met with criticism.
On Monday night, Johnson defended his actions, after he was accused of going too far.
'While it's unfortunate that she had to lose her job, I do think that this brings up an important conversation about accountability, especially in a country where black and brown people, marginalized people as a whole, have seen so little of it,' he said.
'I hope Emma learns from this. I hope other people learn from this who engage in abusive, racist and destructive behavior. Because ultimately, whether Emma lost her job or not, doesn't take away the trauma that my fiancé and I have.
'It doesn't take away the feeling of feeling like anything racist can happen anywhere.'
He said on Monday that he had been receiving death threats.
'If she respected us or Black people as a whole, not only would she not have done as she did - she would have attempted to apologize,' he wrote on Twitter prior to the release of Sarley's statement.
'People should consider within themselves why there is such normalization of racist behavior.'
The incident in the dog park came to light after Johnson posted footage of its aftermath to Twitter
In his original post featuring the video, Joseph tweeted: 'At the dog park in Brooklyn with my fiancé and this white woman was threatening to call police and told us to "stay in our hood" because she had our dog confused with another dog who had been barking loudly.
'So, I started recording and she tried to slap the phone out my hand.'
In the footage Joseph can be heard saying: "You just left the dog park to tell us to stay in our hood?"
Video shows Sarley giving the camera the middle finger before pushing the phone away.
She then appears to clutch her chest and says: "Oh my God, did you just say that to me? S**t."
Joseph then asks a bystander: "I'm sorry, you were right here watching this entire thing. Did she not just stand here and tell us to stay in our hood?".
The bystander responds: "she did".
Sarley then turns and leaves the dog park.
Software company Bevy has confirmed someone was fired over the incident, but did not name Sarley.
Derek Andersen, the cofounder and CEO of Bevy, wrote on Twitter: '@BevyHQ has zero tolerance for discriminatory behavior of any kind.
'Yesterday an employee engaged in behavior contrary to our values and has been terminated. We apologize deeply to all involved,
'I personally hope some type of resolution can happen between the two parties beyond this and will help if I can.'
A post on the company's Facebook page announced the hiring of Sarley as an Account Executive on August 24.
A LinkedIn page, which has since been deactivated, also identified Sarley as an Enterprise Account Executive at Bevy.
Bevy did not immediately response to DailyMail.com's request for comment.
The NYPD have said they are looking into the incident but have not confirmed whether a report was filed.
At the end of the clip, Joseph asks a bystander: "I'm sorry, you were right here watching this entire thing. Did she not just stand here and tell us to stay in our hood?". The bystander responds "she did". Sarley then turns and leaves the dog park
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