Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Police fatally shot a Las Vegas father in his own home last week after he made a 911 call about a break-in.
Shortly after midnight, several 911 calls reported a shooting, according to the Las Vegas Metro Police Department. Brandon Durham, the homeowner at the location of the shooting, made one of those calls.
Police Shoot
Police arrived on the scene and found Durham locked in a fight. The 43-year-old homeowner grappled with a woman holding a knife.
Officer Alexander Bookman entered the home, and saw the fight, yelling, “Drop the knife! Drop the knife!”
Within seconds of entering the home, Bookman fired his gun. CNN reports that the first bullet hit Durham. Bookman fired five more times, each time hitting Durham, not the attacker.
The police took the suspect, Alejandra Boudreaux, into custody. Durham on the other hand, died on the scene from the gunshot wounds.
Police Perspective
Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren of the LVMPD released a press statement after the shooting. In his 911 call, Durham stated that several people were trying to break in and were shooting.
Durham told police he and his 15-year-old daughter Isabella were home. They planned to lock themselves in the bathroom until help came.
When officers arrived, they “observed damage to the house and could hear screaming coming from inside the residence,” according to Koren. “Based on the circumstances, Officer Bookman kicked in the front door.”
Family Perspective
According to USAToday, Bookman is on administrative leave. Durham’s family feels that the officer deserves consequences.
“I am disgusted in how the Metropolitan Police told my father, after killing him, to stay down,” Isabella told KSNV.
“Knowing, treating him like he was the suspect in the situation, he was the victim, and I’m disgusted that the Metropolitan Police will allow me to live fatherless for the rest of my life,” she added.
Consequences
The Durham family lawyer demands an arrest warrant against Bookman. David Roger, an attorney in connection with the LVMPD counters that demand.
“Criminal cases require proof of a person’s criminal intent,” Roger told CNN, “While Mr. Durham’s death is tragic, Officer Bookman was doing his job and did not intend to commit a crime.”
The Original Attacker
Boudreaux on the other hand, had very clear intentions. She told police she entered the home in a suicidal state, wanting to be shot by police.
The 31-year-old woman met Durham previously through their real estate work. The two developed an intimate relationship, according to Fox5.
Eventually, Boudreaux called Durham out on his other relationships and he told her to leave his home. After several moments of bad luck, the woman decided to return to the home and that’s when things escalated.
READ MORE: Homeowner’s Son Shoots Armed Intruder
She admitted to breaking windows and entering the home armed with two knives. Police charged her with four counts, including domestic violence and child endangerment.
Boudreaux wanted to be shot that day and told police they shot the wrong person. “I feel responsible,” she said.
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Charge the Cop with 2nd degree Murder😡 Cops are out of control today. Never ever call the Cops, They will Kill you😡
“Doing his job” doesn’t cut it anymore! Want to make a situation worse call a cop. I used to have respect for law enforcement. All they do now is make bad decisions and cover for each other. If they want get back public trust do away with qualified immunity. That goes the same for prosecutorial,and judicial immunity as well.
All that’s left now is how much the settlement will be.well that and a lot of drama.
Given there was no immediate threat to officer safety, the officer fired without taking in the circumstances in front of him. He should not have used lethal force without cause, and failing to follow the lawful order of a peace officer does not rise to the use of lethal force. Was there not one officer present with a Taser, or some less lethal weapon? The cop needs to be fired and prosecuted, at the very least for negligent homicide, if not for voluntary manslaughter.
an honest mistake.
An honest mistake, are you F’ing kidding me??? The cop shot within seconds of entering the residence and did not properly access the situation. He went from entering the situation cold and went to deadly force immediately, without using lessor forms like blunt force Asp, or Tazer. And the most serious, criminally actionable act was shooting an individual who possessed NO weapon. The female was holding the knife, not the now dead man! How do you justify that? I was a Metro cop for 6 years and a Fed many years after that, been retired 17 yrs, and I’ve never seen LEO involved shooting ruled justifiable in these circumstances.
“The female was holding the knife, not the now dead man!”
The female? Not really.
Shoot happy pigs shoot first ask questions later. Ridiculous
STFU! you commies don’t have an opinion anymore!!!
You don’t even know what a commie is. Trump lives Outin and Kym Jong IL. Grow up and read a book.
You must be a Cop huh?
FO Stupe😡
commie harris voter! if you don’t like cops then find a new country to live.
Hey jackals cops are commies favorite weapons. Just ask Putin or Trump…
Another reason to arm yourself. Not needing to call 911.
Absolutely! True, take care of it yourself, again, never call a cop it will always end up poorly👮🏻♂️
“… what happens in the hood, stays in the hood …” – we hope.
Criminal charged do NOT require intent, hence the laws regaring “negligent” crimes. IMO, this is a classic negligent homicide and LVPD is going to be on the hook for a massive payout. Hopefully, the officer loses his job and his accreditation.
The most important detail that is left out of the story and I can not tell in the video is who is holding the knife. If the man had gotten the knife away from the woman and was holding it when the cop entered, then the cop has a valid argument in his defense of the shooting. If the woman was holding a knife, then the cop has no argument. The idea of intent only lessens the charges from i9ntentional murder to something less such as manslaughter. People are charged every day with crimes committed without intent. The attorney for the cop is just blathering nonsense in defense of his client. While police may have to make life or death decisions in an instant, they also expect untrained people in the most tense situations of their lives to react with immediate compliance to being screamed at by them. This cop should at the least lose his job.
Let’s go with jail time.(30 years) w/ Bubba as a cell mate💯