The incident last week put police shootings back in the spotlight and came just days before the Justice Department opened an investigation into the death of Sonya Massey, who was shot and killed by a police officer in her Illinois home last July.
The Las Vegas Police Department said Bookman, 26, has been placed on paid administrative leave pending an internal investigation into the Nov. 12 incident.
Police said in a press statement that Mr. Durham called 911 to report that two people were shooting outside and attempting to break into his home.
Officers who responded to the call found a vehicle with a broken window outside.
Police also said they found the house damaged and heard screaming from inside, prompting Mr Bookman to kick in the front door to get into the house.
Body camera footage released by police shows Bookman walking through the home with a gun drawn, while screaming and pounding can be heard out of sight.
Rounding the corner of the L-shaped hallway, the officer spots a shirtless Mr. Durham wrestling over a knife with a woman wearing a ski mask. She was later identified as 31-year-old Alejandra Boudreaux.
Mr Bookman shouts “Hey, drop the knife, drop the knife” seconds before shooting Mr Durham and knocking him and Mr Boudreaux to the ground.
Mr. Bookman then fired five more shots at Mr. Durham and told him to “put your hands up,” body worn camera footage released by police showed.
Mr Durham was pronounced dead at the scene. Boudreau was arrested and charged with four counts, including home invasion with a deadly weapon.
Durham’s daughter told local news she was “disgusted by the way the police told her to stay silent after killing her father.” “I am disgusted that the police will allow me to live my whole life without a father.”
The family’s lawyer filed an immediate arrest warrant for Mr. Bookman.
“Unlike civil cases, where individual negligence is at issue, criminal cases require evidence of an individual’s criminal intent,” David Roger, general counsel for the Las Vegas Police Protective Association, said in a statement to CNN. “While Mr. Durham’s death is tragic, Officer Bookman was doing his job and did not intend to commit a crime.”
Citing a police report, local media reported that Mr. Durham and Ms. Boudreaux were previously in a romantic relationship.
Sheriff Dori Koren said despite multiple reports of shots fired, police did not find a gun at the scene.
Similar details between Mr. Durham’s death and the death of Sonya Massey, an Illinois woman who was shot and killed by police in her home after calling for help, have reignited calls for police reform.
