LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — Two years after a Las Vegas police officer fatally shot Brandon Durham inside his home, his family continues to seek accountability while working to keep his memory alive.
Durham, a 43-year-old realtor, called 911 shortly after midnight on Nov. 12, 2024, to report an intruder at his home near Sunset and Eastern. His 15-year-old daughter was in another bedroom.
When officers arrived, they kicked in the front door and found Durham struggling with a suspect identified as Alejandra Boudreaux over a knife in a bedroom doorway. Body-camera footage released by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department shows Officer Alexander Bookman ordering them to drop the knife, firing once and then firing five more times after Durham fell to the floor. Durham died at the home, police said.
For Rachel Gore, Durham’s surviving spouse, the front door still holds a reminder of that night because the boot print was left when officers forced it open.
“In that moment, when that door was kicked, Brandon was still alive, and that’s the way I see it,” Gore said. “That boot in the door was a moment where I feel like, had different decisions been made, he could have still had a chance.”
Gore moved into the home in August 2025, after spending nine months away. She repaired damage, replaced flooring and added furniture. The house holds years of family memories, she said, even as reminders of the shooting remain. She’s also not removed any of Durham’s clothing from the closet.
“I don’t have the spookiness of fear that some people might have,” Gore said. “Hard is the death. That’s hard. Everything after it is trying to cope. I think those things helped me feel comfortable. Those things helped me feel reassured, because the hard part was November 12.
Gore invited News 3 inside, saying it was the first time media had been in the home since the shooting. She showed reporter Cristen Drummond the converted garage Durham called his “man cave.”
“Just a lot of tributes to him and his life and our time together,” Gore said.
A purple-and-yellow wall holds shelves of photographs and other items, including memorabilia from the Minnesota Vikings, Durham’s favorite football team. An unopened energy drink sits among the keepsakes.
“This is a drink that he bought the night that he was murdered, and he never drank,” Gore said. “That was probably one of the last things he touched.”
Gore said the memories can return as she walks through the house.
“It took time, a lot of therapy, a lot of medication,” she said. “There were times when the moment I walked through the doorway, it was just I would hear screaming.”
The memories follow her outside the home, too. Seeing a Metro officer nearby can bring the shooting back to mind, she said.
“I don’t feel safe anywhere in Las Vegas,” Gore said.
The family filed a federal lawsuit against Bookman and the police department in April 2025. The lawsuit alleges Bookman used excessive force and violated Durham’s civil rights. It also accused Metro of failing to adequately train Bookman and said department policies contributed to Durham’s death. The family is seeking damages and policy changes, including de-escalation training and stricter discipline for officers with prior misconduct. The case remains open in court.
In July 2025, a Clark County grand jury declined to indict Bookman, issuing a “no bill” after reviewing evidence presented by prosecutors. Cannon Lambert, one of the civil rights attorneys representing Durham’s family, said the family was disappointed. The family has pointed to Bookman’s prior contact with Durham and Boudreaux at the home the day before the shooting.
The Las Vegas Police Protective Association, the union representing Metro officers, said Bookman believed deadly force was necessary based on what he saw. Bookman left Metro in March 2026. The department confirmed he was no longer employed.
The civil case has moved forward with some depositions, Lambert said, but attorneys still want to question Bookman and Boudreaux. Boudreaux’s criminal case has been continued to mid-March 2027, according to court records. Lambert said she could invoke her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination while that case is pending, limiting the family’s ability to question her in the civil lawsuit. Attorneys may also need a court ruling to depose Bookman.
“There are a lot of things that still haven’t been answered, frankly, and I think the family struggles with that,” Lambert said.
For Gore, the delays make it difficult to know when the legal process might bring the family accountability.
“The waiting process of waiting for things to materialize, waiting for this chapter to end, is extremely difficult,” she said. “We want some accountability in whatever form it comes.”
