HOUSTON – A Houston man said he's feeling uneasy and feeling unsafe in his own apartment.
Military veteran Derek Gray said the trouble began in the past week after a neighbor complained about the security video doorbell outside his apartment at the Las Palmas apartments. That's near NASA Parkway and Galveston Road near the Johnson Space Center.
Gray insists management gave him permission to install the system when he moved in five months ago.
"I installed it," Gray said. "I even talked to their maintenance guys and said, 'Hey. Do you mind if I run a power supply line over here to this light?'"
But video from the doorbell system yesterday showed the management team coming to Gray's apartment with two police officers to assist him in removing the device.
"At that point, I said, 'OK. Now we have reached a whole new level. Civil discussion is over. I will comply,'" he said.
But Gray said the doorbell security is a need not a luxury.
He is a veteran of the Air Force and the Army -- performing three tours in Iraq from 2005 to 2007. He has been diagnosed with PTSD and in his recovery, Gray said the doorbell system is a form of healing and gives him peace of mind.
"My safety and my security are paramount," Gray said. "It's what allows me the ability to sleep at night and I want that back."
And although Gray acknowledges the complex has a legal right to remove the doorbell system, he is praying for a compromise.
"Let's find a reasonable concession," he said. "I'm more than happy if my neighbor has privacy concerns I'm more than happy to install a blind that blocks the view of the door."
We did speak to a manager at the apartment complex but they said they would not comment about this story.
