Politics and Current
Las Vegas police kill black homeowner in front of daughter after calling 911 for help, mistaken for armed intruder
It took Las Vegas police officer Alexander Bookman one second to shoot and kill Brandon Durham on Tuesday after ordering him to “drop the knife” and firing six shots after entering Durham’s home.
However, Durham, a 43-year-old black man who works in real estate, was the homeowner and told his daughter to call the police for help in reporting a house invasion.
The video shows the lady holding the knife while Durham held her wrists with each hands to avoid being stabbed.
“Hey! Hey! Drop the knife! Drop the knife!” Bookman screamed, opening fire and shouting orders.
The first bullet appeared to hit Durham in the pinnacle, causing him to groan in pain as he fell to the ground. Bookman then fired a further five shots while Durham was on the ground.
“Hands up!” Bookman shouted.
But by then, Durham was dead, and the one person in a position to raise their hands was the lady who had broken into Durham’s home after smashing several automobile windows in front of his house.
Alejandra Marie Boudreaux, 31, was arrested on charges of home invasion while in possession of a firearm or deadly weapon; assault constituting domestic violence with a deadly weapon; child abuse or neglect; and disrespect for the protection of person or property, in accordance with court records available online in Clark County, all of that are felonies.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police told local media that Durham had a previous relationship with Boudreaux, but provided no details about it.
Durham’s 15-year-old daughter, Isabella Durham, was home when her father was killed and was hiding in a bedroom.
“I heard shots. “I heard them and I’m disgusted,” her daughter said at a press conference outside the home on Thursday, in accordance with The Times. Las Vegas review magazine.
“When I grabbed the phone and handed it to him, that was the last time I saw my father alive.”
Shooting
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police released a 55-second video from Bookman’s body camera that shows an officer arriving in a squad automobile.
The dispatcher could be heard describing an individual between 20 and 35 years old, of average construct, wearing a black sweatshirt and black sweatpants moments before Bookman exited the police automobile.
A person could be heard screaming from contained in the house, prompting Bookman to kick the door open and enter the home together with his gun drawn, followed by one other officer.
The man’s pleas for help grow to be louder and loud banging could be heard as officers move to the back of the home, where they find Durham fighting with Boudreaux in a bedroom doorway.
Boudreaux appears to be wearing a black sweatshirt and sweatpants, but underneath the sweatshirt is a red hoodie together with his head covered. But Bookman shot and killed Durham, who was only wearing underwear.
Police didn’t say who was holding the knife, only saying that the 2 were “fighting for the knife.”
However, Durham’s family watched the video and consider he was never holding a knife.
“What colors are you looking at? Not the colors of the clothes. You look at the color of his skin and that’s why he’s dead,” said Rachael Gore, a registered domestic partner of Durham who describes herself as his wife. Vegas Review-Journal.
Police say Boudreaux can also be black. However, because she was wearing a hoodie and a long-sleeved shirt, her skin color wasn’t as obvious as Durham’s, who was only wearing underwear.
Durham’s friend Branden Cinquegrani described him as a “good man.”
“I just want everyone to know that he’s not a knife-wielding man in Sunset Park,” he told the Review-Journal.
Durham’s mother, Lenore DeJesus, also expressed outrage on the news conference.
“What I want and what I demand are answers,” she said, in accordance with the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
“The police owe us these answers,” she continued. “No lies, no made-up stories, no things to cover up their actions. They must take responsibility for what happened and provides us the answers we deserve. We don’t deserve any less.”
Bookman, 26, has been placed on paid administrative leave. According to The Times, the Durham shooting is the thirteenth by Las Vegas police this yr, and eight of them were fatal. Forest Vegas Sunny.
This time last yr, Las Vegas police shot and killed six people, two of whom died.
“My brother is dead because a police officer wasn’t properly trained,” said Durham’s sister, Diane Wright 8 News now.
“The officer shot my brother in the head and shot him at least four more times until my brother was lying dead on the floor… saying, ‘Don’t move,'” Wright said. “Where is he going? Has he already been killed by you?