A 43-year-old father was shot and killed in his home by a Las Vegas police officer last week, authorities said, after he called 911 for help and struggled with a woman he knew over a knife.
Brandon Durham’s family has asked for the officer to be arrested, but an attorney for Officer Alexander Bookman said his client committed no crime.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police received multiple calls early November 12 about a shooting on Wine River Drive. Durham, who was home with his 15-year-old daughter, told 911 that people were shooting at his house and had broken in, Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren said at a news conference last week.
When Bookman and two others responded, they saw damaged cars and windows and heard screaming and banging from inside Durham’s home. Bookman kicked in Durham’s front door and, once inside, found Durham and Alejandra Boudreaux, 31, wrestling over a knife in a bedroom doorway, according to Koren.
Boudreaux, who was in a relationship with Durham, had broken into the home and she and Durham were in a heated confrontation, according to an arrest report, first obtained by CNN affiliate KVVU.
Bookman shouted, “Drop the knife! Drop the knife!” and fired one shot, hitting Durham and sending him and Boudreaux to the ground. Durham, on the floor, was then shot by Bookman five more times, body-worn camera footage released by police showed. It is not clear whether one or both were holding the knife at the moment of the shooting.
“After the shots, (Boudreaux) told the officer he shot the wrong person,” the arrest report states.
After officers made attempts to save his life, Durham was pronounced dead at the scene. His death marks the department’s eighth fatal officer-involved shooting in 2024, Koren said.
Incidents of people calling 911 for help and being shot by police have drawn scrutiny across the country, including New York, Mississippi, Minnesota, Colorado, California and more, CNN previously 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, reported by CNN affiliate KNTV.
Bookman’s attorney says the officer did nothing that violated the law.
“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.”
CNN has reached out to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police for more information about any prior incidents at Durham’s home.
Steven Wolfson, Clark County district attorney, said in a statement 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.”
Attack suspect told police she wanted to die
The arrest report obtained by CNN sheds more light on events leading to Durham’s death. Boudreaux broke into Durham’s home the day of the shooting after she decided “she was going to die,” according to the report.
Boudreaux, who described her relationship with Durham as casual and sexual, 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 police in an interview after the incident.
Boudreaux told police she used rocks to break into the house, took a knife from the kitchen and entered his bedroom during the heated confrontation, the report noted.
The victim’s 15-year-old daughter, whose name is redacted in the police report because of her age, told police “she was scared and shaking inside her room, holding her dog” and that “she feared for her life.”
Boudreaux told police she initially had two knives, but that Durham had hold of one as police arrived, according to the report. She later told police that she did not plan to stab Durham, but instead had intended for police to shoot and kill her and not Durham, according to the report.
“I feel like I’m responsible for what (led) up to everything,” Boudreaux told police.
Boudreaux faces multiple charges including assault with a deadly weapon, home invasion with a deadly weapon, domestic violence and child abuse, police said. CNN is working to identify whether Boudreaux has legal representation.
Boudreaux is being held at the Clark County Detention Center pending a November 25 initial appearance in court, jail records show.
Durham’s shooting remains under investigation by the police department’s critical incident review team. Bookman is on administrative leave pending the results of the internal investigation, CNN affiliate KTNV reported.
