Left: Brandon Durham (GoFundMe). Right: Bodycam footage (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department).
A Nevada man, Brandon Durham, who was fatally shot by a Las Vegas police officer after seeking help by calling 911, is now the subject of a lawsuit filed by his family against the police department. The family claims that Durham posed no threat to anyone at the time of the incident.
The unfortunate events unfolded when a former friend of Durham broke into his home in the early hours of November 12, 2024. Feeling unsafe, Durham dialed 911 for assistance. Despite reassurances from dispatchers that help was en route, Durham expressed doubts about his survival, stating, “I don’t think I’ll be alive by then.”
When help arrived, Officer Alexander Bookman, 26, allegedly opened fire — on Durham. Durham was pronounced dead at the scene.
During the incident, Durham’s teenage daughter Isabelle was present in the house. The intruder, identified as 31-year-old Alejandra Boudreaux, was later indicted on multiple felony charges, including home invasion with a deadly weapon, by a grand jury in December 2024. Boudreaux is currently held in Clark County Jail on a $1 million bond.
One the attorneys representing Durham’s family, Lee Merritt, spoke at a press conference on April 7, the day he filed the family’s lawsuit against the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department in federal court. He told the press that the Clark County Prosecutor’s Office was “moving forward with presenting charges” against Bookman at a criminal level. According to reporting by local NBC affiliate KSNV, Bookman has been on paid administrative leave since the alleged incident.
Merritt told reporters that while Durham’s family, including his partner Rachel Gore, would be asking for damages totaling more than $1 million, there was “no number that was going to make this family whole.” He also said that the “prohibitive” amount asked for in the lawsuit was intended to spur change, saying they “don’t want a money grab,” but they “want to make sure that nothing like this happens to another family.”
The lawsuit accuses Bookman of failing to de-escalate the situation and claims he never gave Boudreaux the chance to comply with his order to drop the knife. The suit said, “less than two seconds later, instead of shooting the assailant,” Bookman allegedly “proceeded to shoot Brandon Durham in the head.” While Durham was on the ground, Bookman then allegedly shot him “another five times, killing him.”
The lawsuit also pointed out that Bookman “never shot at the intruder” who was holding the knife, and that Durham was unarmed.
In addition to the alleged shooting, the lawsuit also said that Bookman knew full well that Durham was the homeowner since he had been at the same home “less than 24 hours before.” Durham had allowed Bookman into the residence using his own biometrics. Even more than that, Bookman was at the home to get Boudreaux to leave, indicating that he knew the home, the homeowner, and the alleged intruder the homeowner was calling 911 about.
The lawsuit also stated that Bookman “knew that when he was called to the disturbance caused by [Boudreaux], he was going to Brandon Durham’s house.” Bookman “acknowledged the same to his dispatcher” before his arrival.
Bookman is named as a co-defendant alongside the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Both parties have yet to respond.
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