Metro

White woman accused of telling black couple to ‘stay in your hood’ denies ‘racial undertones’

A white woman who came under fire for telling a black couple to “stay in [your] hood” during a spat in a Brooklyn dog park denied Monday that her comments had any “racial undertones.”

Emma Sarley — who was booted from her job amid a social-media backlash to the viral video of Saturday’s confrontation in McCarren Park in Williamsburg — added that she was sorry for her “brief and thoughtless moment.

“My reference to ‘back to your hood’ only referred to another dog park outside of this neighborhood park,” Sarley said in a statement provided to The Post.

“I was frustrated and upset, but to be clear – I had no intended racial undertones in my comments whatsoever. I said it because it’s an unstated rule at our local park that when a dog is being aggressive, owners immediately remove them so it can be a calm, welcoming environment for everyone else.

“However, I fully understand how my words could’ve been interpreted and I deeply wish I had chosen them more carefully,” she said. “A brief and thoughtless moment in my life has now led to nationwide outrage and hurt. For that, I am sorry.”

In the statement, issued through a public-relations firm, Sarley said she absolutely accepts responsibility for “how I could have handled things differently in that moment.”

Frederick Joseph posted this to Twitter. At the dog park in Brooklyn with my fiancé and this white woman, Emma Sarley, 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.
Frederick Joseph has said he and his fiancée were threatened by Emma Sarley. Twitter

Sarley also claimed that she never threatened to call the police during the confrontation, as she was accused of doing, nor went on “a tirade.

“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,” she said. “That’s what you witnessed on that tape.

“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,” she added. “I truly hope we can find understanding and a peaceful resolution to this, for everyone involved.”

Frederick Joseph posted this to Twitter. At the dog park in Brooklyn with my fiancé and this white woman, Emma Sarley, 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.
Emma Sarley was fired from her job after social-media backlash to the viral video. Twitter

Frederick Joseph has said he and his fiancée were threatened by Sarley after she confused their dog with a different pooch that had been barking loudly at the park.

“So I started recording and she tried to slap the phone out of my hand,” Joseph wrote on Twitter, referring to Sarley.

In the aftermath of the video, Sarley was fired her job with the software platform Bevy.