Albuquerque, New Mexico.- The family of a man shot to death by police in northwestern New Mexico after they responded to the wrong address called Thursday for the officers to be charged with murder and for the police chief to resign.
Lawyers for Robert Dotson’s family released a statement outlining their concerns and spoke more about their quest for justice at a news conference Thursday afternoon in Farmington. They accused the Farmington Police Department of “savage use of force,” saying there has been a lack of accountability.
“We demand that this change. We want what happened to Robbie to also result in a better community for all of Farmington,” attorney Shon Northam said in a statement.
The family wants the San Juan County District Attorney and the New Mexico Attorney General to investigate other alleged cases of excessive force involving the Department. They also asked federal prosecutors in a letter sent Thursday to bring charges against the officers involved for civil rights violations.
“He died on his doorstep. It was no different than an execution,” the letter says.
Farmington Police Chief Steve Hebbe called the April 5 shooting tragic and said his agency is trying to understand what happened that night when officers mistakenly approached the Dotson home.
Farmington Police declined to comment on the family’s lawsuits, but confirmed that the officers involved remain on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an ongoing investigation.
The State Police Bureau of Investigations is continuing to review the case and says the findings will be shared with the district attorney. It’s unclear why officers responded to the wrong address after receiving a domestic violence call from a home across the street.
The district attorney’s office said Thursday that it will review the case as soon as state police conclude their investigation.
The events come amid an ongoing nationwide reckoning over the use of force by law enforcement officers. Just weeks ago, California prosecutors charged seven Highway Patrol officers and a nurse with manslaughter in connection with the 2020 death of a man who was being restrained after a traffic stop.
Body camera footage released by Farmington Police last week showed officers arriving at the home. They walked to the front door, passing the address that was posted on the house and illuminated by an outside light. They knocked on the door and announced themselves.
As they ring two more times, officers can be heard asking a dispatcher to confirm the address and tell the caller to come to the door. The dispatcher indicates the address of a house across the street.
Within seconds, Dotson, armed with a pistol, opened the door and officers immediately began firing multiple rounds as they backed up. The man can be seen falling to the ground.
Lawyers for the family said doorbell camera footage from the home shows the officers were smiling and laughing before Dotson opened the door and was blinded by the officers’ flashlights.
Video released by police showed a chaotic scene that erupted about four minutes after officers first arrived at the wrong address. Once the shooting stopped, sirens blared as more officers arrived and Dotson’s wife was heard pleading with officers that her husband had been shot and needed help after realizing they were outside. from his house.
Namely…
• The events come amid an ongoing nationwide reckoning over the use of force by law enforcement officers
•Just weeks ago, California prosecutors charged seven Highway Patrol officers and a nurse with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the 2020 death of a man who was being restrained after a
traffic stop
•Farmington Police Chief Steve Hebbe called the April 5 shooting tragic and said his agency is trying to
understand what happened that night
