Bizarre and tragic events led to Las Vegas police shooting and killing Brandon Durham in Durham’s home when it was Durham who called 911 to report an intruder. The situation was not what it seemed, and now, Durham’s family are seeking answers.
In a new release and a press conference, Vegas authorities say around 1am Nov 12, officers responded to a call of shots fired at Durham’s home. Durham, 43, told dispatch someone had entered his home, and he was locking himself in the bathroom. Durham’s daughter, 15-year-old Isabella Durham, was also inside the house, and she later said she locked herself in her bedroom to hide, Vegas news outlet KSNV reported.
Vegas police said they saw damaged vehicles outside Durham’s home when they arrived and heard screaming and banging inside the house. Vegas PD officer Alexander Bookman, 26, entered Durham’s residence and found Durham and 31-year-old Alejandra Boudreaux grappling over a knife.
Durham’s sister later said Boudreaux wore a red hoodie and a ski mask. Durham shouted, “She is going to stab me, she’s going to stab me, please come quick, help!” a witness, who overheard the fight, later said.
In the body cam footage, Bookman tells Durham and Boudreaux to drop the knife and then fires his gun. Boudreaux and Durham fall to the ground. Only then does Bookman say, “Put your hands up.”
Bookman then fired five more rounds into Durham, killing him. But Boudreaux told the police at the scene, “[He] shot the wrong person.”
Boudreaux and Durham were in a relationship
As Vegas police would soon learn, Boudreaux and Durham, a successful realtor, had a casual love affair. Vegas’ 8 News Now says Bookman had been at Durham’s house about 24 hours before the confrontation when Durham was shot and killed.
Police records show Durham called the police because a woman named “Marie” was at this house and wouldn’t leave. Durham was reportedly not at home when the call was made. (Multiple reports say Marie is Boudreaux’s middle name.)
Bookman was with the officers who arrived at Durham’s house, but it’s unclear if Bookman ever spoke with or saw Boudreaux or Durham. At some point, Durham returned and spoke with the responding officers, who treated the situation like a domestic disturbance with no clear crime committed. Nonetheless, Bookman’s police report stated Boudreaux left.
After Durham was killed, Boudreaux told the police while in custody, she then went to the Vegas airport, it’s unclear why. While there, Boudreaux’s ticket was voided because it was purchased with a stolen credit card. Inexplicably, Boudreaux remained at the Vegas airport, ticketless, for hours.
“Boudreaux decided that she was going to die”
As Boudreaux told the police, shortly before the fatal Nov. 12 confrontation at Durham’s home, she decided she wanted to die, and she admitted she had been living with suicidal ideation for days. She then returned to Durham’s home, broke in with rocks, grabbed a knife, and said she attacked Durham, thinking officers would shoot and kill her instead.
“I wanted the cops to shoot me dead. And I wanted him to live the wreckage that I caused in his house,” Boudreaux told the police. No gun was found at the scene, and Durham’s initial report of shots fired remains unexplained.
The Durham family’s response
In the aftermath, Durham’s family are demanding answers. How much did Bookman know about the situation when he arrived at the house for the second time? Since he’d been there before, why didn’t he recognize Boudreaux and Durham and better understand that Boudreaux was the likely aggressor? And why hasn’t the Vegas PD been more forthcoming about Bookman’s involvement in the earlier call at Durham’s house?
Referring to the family’s point of view and Bookman’s involvement, the Durham family’s attorney, Cannon Lambert, said, “It definitely matters” that Durham had been there before, “and more specifically, it seems to add more information.”
Lambert added, “The entire family and all of the supporters are very distraught by what we’re hearing. It’s extremely concerning.”
But according to Vegas police, Bookman responded to the situation as best he could, confronting two individuals fighting over a knife, and while he made a snap judgment, which ended in a tragic mistake, the force was justified.
Las Vegas Police Protective Association general counsel David Roger said, “Unlike a civil case, in which an individual’s negligence is at issue, criminal cases require proof of a person’s criminal intent. While Mr. Durham’s death is tragic, Officer Bookman was doing his job and did not intend to commit a crime.”
Boudreaux is currently facing assault, home invasion, and other charges. Meanwhile, while the case is reviewed, Bookman is on administrative leave. In her police report, Boudreaux said, “I feel like I’m responsible for what [led] up to everything.”
