"No, son, it's 'cause you be 18-years-old"
/That’s the punch line to a joke that can’t be repeated here, but it’s appropriate to this story.
'Neighbors from hell' claim they're being targeted by cops because they are black, not because of their noisy parties... but there's a problem
A black couple in Maryland have claimed they are being targeted by police because of their race, after repeatedly being called on by their neighbors in a mostly black neighborhood for hosting loud parties.
Prince and Angela Floyd have had police respond to their home 41 times for noise and parking complaints involving 11 events over a three-year period, the Washington Post reported.
The Floyds are now suing for a whopping $3 million in a federal civil rights lawsuit, alleging they're being unfairly targeted for hosting lavish parties in their nearly million-dollar Accokeek home.
But their neighbors - who are mainly black - insist the issue is about noise, not race.
Prince and Angela Floyd transformed their home into the 'Floyd Estates', complete with a red carpet, live band and food trucks for their frequent family gatherings and celebrations.
The Floyds' parties have become the talk of the town - with rumors of exotic dancers and hookah parties, which the couple deny.
The drama kicked off with a pandemic-era graduation party for the Floyds' daughter in 2020.
With 50 to 70 guests on their lawn and a makeshift stage, the celebration quickly drew the attention of local residents who called police with noise complaints.
The Floyds, who are now suing their neighbors and the police for $3 million, say they are being racially discriminated against.
The Floyds allege their civil rights have been violated, with their neighbors using the police to 'harass and intimidate' them.
They are now demanding a jury trial, membership to the local civic association, and millions in damages.
'It makes me feel threatened, like my life could be taken,' Prince Floyd, 53, told the outlet.
Floyd, who appears to have a long criminal history involving everything from driving drunk to battery added: 'Every time the police show up, I am in fear of my life.’
'When they show up and they see a black man talking to them, it is almost like they are ready to be aggressive with me.'
But their neighbors insist it's about noise, not race.
They claim the issue has nothing to do with race, and is simply about the Floyds hosting parties that are 'too loud, too large and too disruptive.'
'It has nothing to do with them being black,' said Margaret Littlejohn, a black neighbor whose fiance is named in the Floyds' lawsuit. 'It has to do with them not being good neighbors.'
Interestingly, census data shows Accokeek is a majority black community, with black residents making up 65.2 percent of the population, followed by white residents at 18.7 percent.