A Las Vegas family is demanding answers after their kin was shot and killed in his own home after calling 911 to report a home invasion.
The shooting happened Tuesday (November 12) around 12.40 a.m., the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said in a press release.
The newly released police bodycam footage shows 43-year-old Brandon Durham, a Las Vegas realtor and dad, struggling with an alleged intruder over a knife in the early hours of November 12, CBS News reported.
The intruder, later identified as Alejandra Boudreaux, 31, was wearing a red hoodie, while Durham was shirtless, the video shows. Durham’s 15-year-old daughter was home at the time but not at the scene, authorities said.
Las Vegas police said Officer Alexander Bookman entered the home and ordered the pair to drop the knife before firing his weapon, officials said. Durham was hit on the head and fell to the ground. Bookman then continued firing five more rounds, the video shows.
Durham was pronounced dead at the scene.
@abc7chicago The family of a man who was shot and killed by Las Vegas police after he called 911 for help is demanding justice and charges against the officer who opened fire. #news #lasvegas ♬ original sound – abc7chicago
Durham’s death marks the department’s eighth fatal officer-involved shooting in 2024, Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren said at a news conference last week.
Incidents of citizens calling 911 for help and being shot by police have drawn scrutiny across the nation, including California, Colorado, Minnesota, Mississippi, New York, and more, CNN reported.
“An arrest warrant should be issued immediately for the arrest of officer Alexander Bookman,” Lee Merritt, an attorney for Durham’s family, said at a Monday news conference.
“Someone needs to explain to me why my son is not here with us today,” added Durham’s mother.
Bookman is on paid leave while the Vegas Metro Police Department investigates whether he acted within the law or should face criminal charges.
“Unlike a civil case, in which an individual’s negligence is at issue, criminal cases require proof of a person’s criminal intent,” David Roger, general counsel for the Las Vegas Police Protective Association, said in a statement to CNN Tuesday.
“While Mr. Durham’s death is tragic, Officer Bookman was doing his job and did not intend to commit a crime,”he added.
Steven Wolfson, Clark County district attorney, said the investigation is “still in its infancy.”
“It will take weeks, if not months, for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department to complete its investigation; therefore, it would be inappropriate for me to express an opinion regarding whether criminal charges are going to be filed,” Wolfson said. “I simply do not have all the information yet.”
The Alleged Intruder Told Authorities She Wanted To Die At The Hand Of Police
An arrest report obtained by CNN showed that Boudreaux, the 31-year-old intruder, broke into Durham’s home the day of the shooting after she decided “she wanted to die.”
Boudreaux, who described her relationship with Durham as “a casual sexual relationship,” had been suicidal for a few days, the report states.
“I wanted the cops to shoot me dead. And I wanted (Durham) to live the wreckage that I caused in his house,” she told authorities in an interview after the incident.
Boudreaux told officials she used rocks to break into the house, took a knife from the kitchen, and entered the realtor’s bedroom during the heated confrontation.
She later told authorities she initially had two knives and that Durham had hold of one as Officer Bookman entered the home.
Boudreaux also told police that she did not plan on stabbing the 43-year-old dad but instead had intended for authorities to shoot and kill her and not Durham, the report says.
“I feel like I’m responsible for what (led) up to everything,” she told Las Vegas officials.
Durham’s 15-year-old daughter, whose name was redacted in the police report because of her age, told authorities she was frightened and shaking inside her room, holding her dog, and that “she feared for her life.
Boudreaux faces multiple charges, including one count of home invasion with a deadly weapon, one count of assault with a deadly weapon, one count of performing an act of willful or wanton disregard for safety resulting in a person’s death, and one count of child abuse.
She is currently being held at the Clark County Detention Center pending a November 25 initial appearance in court.
