LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Now that the grand jury has decided not to pursue criminal charges against the officer accused of fatally shooting Brandon Durham, we are hearing details of the incident coming from Alexander Bookman's perspective.
WATCH | Abel Garcia reviews the timeline of events
David Roger, a former district attorney and acting counsel for the Las Vegas Police Protective Association, spoke to the media Friday morning to offer some insight as to what was going through Bookman's mind the night of the incident.
Roger said that the decision by the grand jury came down to whether they believed Bookman was acting reasonably when he responded to Durham's home to the report of a home invasion.
WATCH the full press briefing here:
According to Roger, Bookman believed Durham was the aggressor, seeing him holding a knife to Alejandra Boudreaux's throat.
Roger also said that night's incident stemmed from Durham canceling a plane ticket Boudreaux had purchased as she was planning to leave Las Vegas that night.
Roger also pointed to drugs found in Durham's system as an explanation for his behavior, saying a toxicology report found levels of methamphetamine that could lead to hallucinations and aggressive behavior.
From Bookman's perspective, Roger said, he was shooting to stop the threat of Durham using lethal force against Boudreaux.
WATCH | Channel 13's Abel Garcia asked David Roger for some more clarification surrounding Alexander Bookman's perspective on the night of the fatal shooting of Brandon Durham.
We've been following this story since we first reported the shooting in November.
In late March, Channel 13 learned of the Clark County District Attorney's Office's plans to seek a murder charge against Alexander Bookman, the officer who shot Durham inside his home on Nov. 12.
As of Thursday, a Clark County grand jury had declined to indict Bookman in this case, attorneys representing the Durham family told Channel 13.
Durham had called 911 to report a home invasion in progress at his house near Sunset Park. Bookman was among the officers responding to the call who encountered Durham and the person suspected of breaking into his home, struggling over a knife.
Body-worn camera footage from the shooting shows Bookman ordering Durham and the suspect, Alejandra Boudreaux, to drop the knife. Seconds later, Durham was shot in the head, then shot five more times after he fell, an investigation later revealed.
"Mr. Durham's death is tragic, but Officer Bookman was doing his job, and we do not believe he committed a crime," Bookman's attorney, David Roger, told Channel 13 in a previous interview.
The District Attorney's Office released the following statement after the grand jury's decision:
In the months since the shooting, Durham's family and their attorneys have sought accountability, particularly in light of another fact that came to light in the investigation.
Bookman, it was revealed, had been to Durham's house and interacted with both Durham and Boudreaux a day before the shooting.
Attorneys for the Durham family argued that the encounter is proof Bookman should have known Durham was not the suspect when he shot him.
Bookman, 26, was placed on administrative leave amid ongoing investigations into the shooting.
Roger said next, the department will conduct an internal review of Bookman's actions.
