Residents in an upscale Florida neighborhood are very worried about their 69-year-old neighbor who has been living on his million dollar front lawn since March. The concerned citizens have repeatedly asked local authorities to intercede in the months-long dispute between Sharafat Khan, who sleeps underneath their palm trees and his wife, the one who locked him out and wants him gone.
Khan was kicked out of the home months ago with only the clothes on his back and has refused to leave the property since. His 61-year-old wife swiftly changed the locks after forcing her husband out and has asked the police for assistance in removing him from the property. Authorities are unable to grant her request since both parties’ names are on the deed.
Against the wife’s wishes, neighbors have been taking food and other necessities to the frail man camped out in his yard. Even though his wife posted a sign on the front door asking people not to feed him and to stay off the property, the neighbors continue to do so.
According to WTSP 10 News, one of the couple’s sons said that Mrs. Khan finally got tired of years of verbal and physical abuse and filed for divorce in June. Court records show that Khan was arrested for domestic violence in 2008 and Mrs. Khan received a protective order in December 2014. She’s also asked for multiple restraining orders.
The local police department stated they have been called to the couple’s home as many as 30 times in the past six months. They are unable to remove Khan from the property and said he can loiter on his own front yard if he chooses.
Khan’s diabetes and high blood pressure have prompted several ambulance rides from the yard to the hospital. After each stay, he goes back to sleeping under the palm trees—often still in hospital scrubs—while his wife resumes her normal routine, driving up and down their driveway right past him.
Neighbors feel it is inhumane to leave Khan stranded out there on the lawn. He has admitted to WTSP 10 News that he has had several offers to stay at friends’ houses and he could afford to stay in a hotel, but he chooses to hang out on his own property.