Man Says It's Autism, Not Racism, That Made Him Call Cops on Black Women by Pool

A man who called the police on two groups of black woman claims that his sense of right and wrong is 0 or 100 and he did it because of his autism.

Two separate incidents at The Edition Apartments on East-West Highway Hyattsville, Maryland have led to one white man being dubbed "Poolside Nick."

Saturday's incident

The first took place on Saturday. Allegedly, Felecia Soso was with her friends enjoying some drinks poolside while playing music. She began recording in the belief that things were going to get funny.

Instead, she said, Nick Starr-Street started yelling at her friend. The women had glass bottles by the pool, which they agreed to put away as per the rules. Starr-Street also asked that they lower the music.

In the clip, one woman is heard asking him what else they should do to make him comfortable. Abruptly, Starr-Street said he's going to report the women to the leasing office.

The women were taken aback, but they reportedly spoke to the authorities and were allowed to continue their enjoyment of the pool. Starr-Street soon decided to call the police as well. Eventually, the women agreed they'd simply leave the pool.

Sunday's debacle

The second incident was on Sunday and involved a woman named Gaelle Claude. She posted a video to Twitter showing as the same man followed her while holding a phone to his head.

In the caption she wrote:

"This white man literally stalked us from his apartment for [expletive] near a mile just cause we were at the pool drinking wine and taking pictures. Called the police and all...I cannot make this up."

In what is believed to be a recording from the man himself, it showed when Starr-Street previously approached the women and one of them told him to stop recording before flinging the phone away.

He accused the women of assault for the action. The Hyattsville Police Department said that no crime had occurred and that both parties were free to press charges for either harassment or assault respectively.

The reasoning behind it

Online, many accused Starr-Street of being racist. He spoke to WUSA9 and defended his actions. "My sense of right and wrong is 0 or 100. I don't care," Starr-Street explained.

He further insisted that due to his autism, he only sees "right and wrong," before adding, "I don't see race. I don't see gender. I don't see color. I don't see any of that."

He continued:

"I think because of the way that my mind works, I don't always click with other people. I don't understand when people get upset over the things that I say or do. To me, that’s just how I feel."

A past incident of hate

However, this isn't the first time that Starr-Street has gotten backlash for his words online. Back in 2016, he made crude remarks about a popular drag queen just days following the Pulse Nightclub shooting.

Starr-Street reportedly has made other racist, homophobic remarks via social media. He apologized for the incident in 2016, but his current reputation strongly gives off a poor and intentional attitude.

After the events of the weekend, Starr-Street claimed that he has received death threats and that the word "racist" was carved into the front door of his apartment.

The aftermath

Still, he claimed that he didn't only report black women and that Monday he called police on some white women as well. For whatever reason though, he chose not to record that incident.

According to Atlanta Black Star, persons online determined that Starr-Street works at the DC coffee shop named Slipstream. The business said that it's his husband who works there and he was put on leave.

Another problem at the pool

The story is reminiscent of a white man who called police on a black family who was using a neighborhood pool. Adam Bloom requested to see the mother's ID to prove she had access to the pool.

However, Jazmine Abhulimen felt that that was uncalled for. She gave the man her address and then later provided her ID, but Bloom insisted he also needed proof of address. Bloom was called out on social media and subsequently lost his job.