Black Women Say White Man Harassed Them at Maryland Apartment Complex Pool

Two black women say a white man harassed them at a Maryland apartment complex pool, and the man recorded the confrontation for social media.

Gaelle Claude toured The Edition apartments in Hyattsville with a roommate Sunday, and the leasing agent told them to sit by the pool to get a feel for the property and their potential neighbors.

"I didn't expect that going to sign my lease would turn into such a chaos," Claude said.

One of those potential neighbors, Nick Starr-Street, had a problem with the women having a glass bottle at the pool.

“The lifeguard said that it was OK," Claude said.

But Starr-Street confronted them and recorded it with his cellphone.

The women decided to leave, and Starr-Street followed.

"He started calling us names — homophobic, racist — I didn't even know the man was gay,” Claude said. “I don't know him."

The police were called, but no one was arrested.

Claude said she’s filed a restraining order against Starr-Street.

“It's really hard for me to wrap my ahead around the fact that as people of color we can't do anything, like, literally," she said.

Starr-Street was involved in a similar incident at the same pool. He accused a black woman of drinking alcohol in a glass container and playing music too loud and also referred to her as racist and homophobic. He threatened to report her to the leasing office. A video of that incident was taken down from his site.

Starr-Street has not responded to a request for comment.

The management at The Edition said in a statement, “We are aware of the recent harassment incidents that occurred at the pool at The Edition. Safety and well-being are of the utmost importance to us at The Edition, and we were appalled by the treatment of our residents and visitors. In no way does the staff at The Edition condone the actions of the resident in question, and we are taking swift corrective measures to address this issue.”

Hyattsville police said they responded to complaints from the same man involving women with glassware at the pool on Saturday and Sunday. Unable to verify a crime occurred, they didn’t file a report but told the involved parties they could press charges through district court.

Claude said she and her roommates decided not to move into The Edition.

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