A Las Vegas police officer who fatally shot a man in his home will not be indicted, according to a lawyer representing the man’s family.

Metropolitan Police Department officer Alexander Bookman fatally shot Brandon Durham, 43, on Nov. 12 after Durham called police to report a burglary.

“This failure to act is a betrayal of the public trust and a violation of the District Attorney’s sworn duty to uphold the law without fear or favor,” Attorney S. Lee Merritt said in a Thursday statement. “Officer Bookman murdered Brandon Durham in cold blood. This community deserves transparency, accountability, and justice.”

Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.

Durham had called police to report a break-in to his home in the 6900 block of Wine River Drive, just west of Sunset Park and south of Harry Reid International Airport. Body camera footage shows that Bookman had responded to Durham’s house the previous day, Nov. 11, for a call reporting an intruder, later identified as Alejandra Boudreaux, 31, and had told her to leave the home.

After Durham called 911 to report a break-in on Nov. 12, Bookman arrived at Durham’s home to find Durham and Boudreaux struggling over a knife. Bookman gave two commands to drop the knife, and less than two seconds later, fired shots at Durham, according to the footage. In the footage, Bookman fired his gun and continued shooting at Durham as he and Boudreaux fell.

After the shooting, Boudreaux was indicted on counts of home invasion, assault with a deadly weapon and child abuse, neglect or endangerment in connection with the alleged break-in.

The killing devastated but also outraged Durham’s family, who called for Bookman to be arrested. Roughly 100 people marched in Durham’s honor on Fremont Street on Nov. 23, with speakers and those who attended the rally saying Bookman should be charged. Attendees at a Nov. 30 candlelight vigil also called for Bookman to be held accountable, with Gore and other vigil attendees wearing a shirt with Durham’s face on it under text that read, “They will kill you in your own home.”

Durham’s mom told the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Thursday that she was “truly disappointed” that Bookman wouldn’t be indicted.

“It’s obvious what happened, that my son was murdered,” Lenore DeJesus said. “This cop had no reason to shoot him, and he should be held accountable and he is not. I’m really disappointed that they didn’t have the courage to stand up and do what was right.”

Meanwhile, a press conference will be held on Friday morning at the offices of the Las Vegas Police Protective Association, the union that represents Metro officers.

Union president Steve Grammas declined to comment Thursday.

David Roger, counsel for the police union, previously said Bookman “was doing his job and did not have criminal intent when he shot to eliminate a threat.”

Efforts to reach Metro for comment Thursday night were unsuccessful.

Calls for justice

The Thursday statement from Merritt said the Durham family was now calling on Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford to immediately assign a special prosecutor and advance criminal charges.

Merritt and fellow civil rights attorney Cannon Lambert, who is also representing Durham’s family, also announced their intention to pursue federal civil rights charges and legal action against both Bookman and the city of Las Vegas.

In April, Rachael Gore, Durham’s partner, and Isabella Durham, his daughter, filed a lawsuit against Metro and Bookman.

“We are demanding that all stakeholders — local, national, and international — stand with the Durham family,” Lambert said in a statement. “We urge the public to condemn this no-bill decision and demand that justice be served.”

At the Fremont Street march in November, Quentin Savwoir, president of the Las Vegas chapter of the NAACP, urged members of the public to call Wolfson and demand Bookman be charged.

“I don’t know how you are not angry at something like this,” Gore said at Durham’s funeral in December. “But instead of leading with anger, I choose to lead with love today.”

History of police prosecutions

It is rare for police officers to be prosecuted for fatal shootings in Clark County. When such prosecutions do occur, they have typically been unsuccessful. Experts, including Wolfson, have said they could not recall any case in recent history when a Las Vegas area police officer was convicted in connection with an on-duty killing.

Wolfson’s office has presented the cases of other officers accused of killing people to Clark County grand juries in the past.

A grand jury declined to indict Jesus Arevalo, a Metro officer who shot disabled veteran Stanley Gibson in 2011 after Gibson would not exit his car.

Officer Kenneth Lopera’s case was also taken to a grand jury after he shocked Tashii Brown with a Taser seven times, hit him in the head and put him in a chokehold in 2017 outside The Venetian. Brown died and Lopera avoided indictment.

Although he was arrested and charged in Las Vegas Justice Court, court records indicate Lopera’s involuntary manslaughter and oppression under color of office charges were eventually dismissed.

Contact Katie Futterman at kfutterman@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ktfutts on X. Review-Journal reporters Noble Brigham and Bryan Horwath contributed to this story.

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