It takes only a single kick to force open most doors on the market.
(PRWEB) June 09, 2016
This past week the sports community was shocked to learn about the death of professional basketball player, Bryce Dejean-Jones in a Dallas apartment complex. According to a May 30 CNN report, during the early morning hours of Saturday May 28th, Bryce reportedly got into an argument with his girlfriend and the mother of his child. He allegedly decided to take a walk and returned back to the apartment only to get off the elevator on the wrong floor. Its reported that he found the door locked and proceeded to kick the door in, enter the apartment and then attempted to kick-in the bedroom door as well. It was at this moment when the man that lived in the apartment allegedly shot him through the door. The Guardian reported that Dejean-Jones died shortly after being found in the hallway of the apartment from a single gunshot wound to the abdomen.
There has been a good deal of editorial content about this incident, but the issue that has been entirely ignored is that this unfortunate event could have been prevented. Mistakes are often made when individuals have less than 10-seconds to react. Security consultant and Armor Concepts CEO Alan Young commented, “If Mr. Dejean-Jones was prevented from easily entering the apartment, and was stuck on the outside kicking, the resident could have warned him. When an entry happens this fast, the situation often escalates beyond control.”
The tragedy of his death illuminates a core issue with building security; doors are incredibly easy to kick in. Almost all exterior and interior doors are secured with the most cost-effective hardware available. They are utilized as a means of entry and exit, and are not intended to withstand any type of forced entry. Door reinforcement is an option for both homeowners and apartment complexes as a means of securing doorways and establishing a firm physical boundary. Alan Young added, “While this incident ended with the perpetrator being shot, in many cases these situations end very badly for the resident. In either event it’s usually something that’s completely avoidable. It takes only a single kick to force open most doors on the market. With less than 10 seconds to react, mistakes are often made and individuals are forced to make a split-second judgment.”
For economical protection, Mr. Young recommends that homeowners install grade 1 deadbolts on all of their doors. These can be purchased at most home improvement stores for under $40.00. Mr. Young also recommends that people reinforce their doors with a product like Door Armor, a do-it-yourself product that is guaranteed to stop kick-ins and can be purchased at most Lowe’s stores or online at http://armorconcepts.com/ for around $70.00. “Security doesn’t need to cost a lot. It just needs to work. However, false security can be a very painful and expensive lesson,” Young concluded.