A 43-year-old father was shot and killed by police in Las Vegas after he called 911 for help while fighting off an intruder in his home.
Brandon Durham’s family, including his 15-year-old daughter who hid in a nearby room when her father was killed, have called for the officer to be fired.
Mr Durham’s teenage daughter said she was “disgusted” with Las Vegas police because they treated her like a “suspect” rather than a “victim”.
A lawyer for Alexander Buckman, the officer who shot Mr. Durham, said he did not commit a crime.
The incident put a renewed spotlight on last week’s police shootings, which came just days before the Justice Department opened an investigation into the death of Sonia Massey, who was shot inside her Illinois home in July. was shot and killed by an officer.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said Mr. Buckman, 26, had been placed on paid administrative leave while it conducted an internal review of the Nov. 12 incident.
Police said in a press statement that Mr. Durham had called 911 to report two men outside shooting and trying to break into his home.
Officers responding to the report found cars with broken windows on the outside.
They also saw damage to the home and heard screaming from inside, police said, prompting Mr. Buckman to kick down the front door to get inside.
Body camera footage released by police shows Mr Buckman walking through the house with a gun drawn, while screams and beatings can be heard outside.
Turning the corner of an L-shaped hallway, the officer found a shirtless Mr. Durham wrestling with a woman wearing a ski mask, later identified as 31-year-old Alejandra Boudreau.
Mr Buckman shouts, “Hey, drop the knife, drop the knife”, seconds before shooting Mr Durham and sending him and Miss Boudreaux to the ground.
Mr Buckman then fires five more shots at Mr Durham and says “put your hands up”, body-worn camera footage released by police shows.
Mr. Durham was pronounced dead at the scene. Ms. Boudreaux was arrested and charged with four counts, including home invasion with a deadly weapon.
Mr Durham’s daughter told local news: “I am disgusted by how the Metropolitan Police told me to stay down after killing my father.” “I am disgusted that the Metropolitan Police will allow me to remain an orphan for the rest of my life.”
The family’s lawyer has sought an immediate arrest warrant for Mr. Buckman.
“Unlike a civil case, which involves an individual’s negligence, criminal cases require proof of a person’s criminal intent,” Las Vegas Police Protective Association general counsel David Rogers said in a statement to CNN. ” “While Mr. Durham’s death is tragic, Officer Buckman was doing his job and did not intend to commit a crime.”
Citing a police report, local news outlets said Mr. Durham and Ms. Boudreaux had previously been romantically involved.
Despite multiple reports of shots fired, police did not find a gun at the scene, said Assistant Sheriff Dory Corin.
Similar details between Mr. Durham’s death and Sonia Massey, the Illinois woman who was shot and killed in her home by police after calling for help, have sparked renewed calls for police reform.
