Farmington, NM— New Mexico police officers were wondering if they were in the right house shortly before shooting to death an armed homeowner this month at what turned out to be the wrong address, according to body camera video released Friday.
The video posting comes more than a week after Robert Dotson, 52, was killed by police in Farmington, New Mexico, on April 5, when officers showed up at the wrong house in response to a call. of domestic violence. Three officers who fired their weapons have been placed on paid administrative leave, and the New Mexico State Police (NMSP) is investigating the fatal mix-up.
After the officers seemed to laugh at the idea that they had mixed up the addresses, police backed off and shined a light on Dotson once he reached the door of what authorities thought was the home with the domestic violence report, the show shows. the video. But the officers were supposed to be at an address across the street, according to police. As Dotson opened the screen door and began to raise his firearm, police opened fire on the homeowner, who promptly fell to the ground, according to body camera video.
The police shooting resulted in a chaotic scene in which Dotson’s wife exchanged gunfire with authorities and screamed in anguish, video shows: “Please help, someone shot my husband!” Neither Dotson’s wife, who has not been publicly named, nor the officers were injured.
The Farmington Police Department released audio of the 911 calls and six videos of the fatal encounter Friday, including one posted to Facebook of the police narrative and clips from the three officers’ body cameras, who have not been publicly identified. Farmington Police Chief Steven Hebbe said in a news release that his officers “recognize the seriousness of this incident” and promised to release additional records and files in the coming weeks.
“We will do everything we can to ensure a fuller understanding of what happened. I think the images will help to better understand what happened,” Hebbe said. “Once again, we want to express our condolences to the Dotson family and, as your police chief, I want to convey how sorry I am that this tragedy has occurred.”
When contacted for comment, Dotson’s wife directed The Washington Post to Shon Northam, the California-based attorney for the family. Northam did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Saturday.
There have been 1,066 people who have been fatally shot by police in the United States in the past 12 months, according to a Post database. So far, 285 people have been shot dead by police in 2023, the database shows.
At around 11:30 p.m. on April 5, police were responding to a domestic violence call on Valley View Avenue in Farmington, a northwestern New Mexico city near the Colorado border, about 200 miles from Albuquerque. The three officers who responded to the report knocked three times on the front door of the wrong house and announced that they are police officers, the video shows. As they wait for an answer at the door with an Easter bunny decoration, one of the officers asks if they are at the right house, according to the video.
“Isn’t it 5308?” asks the officer. “That’s what he said right there, right?”
His colleague replies, “No, it said 5305, right?”
When the officer calling the 5305 address asks to confirm the correct location, the radio dispatcher tells him the home they are looking for on Valley View Avenue is 5308, not 5305, the video shows. The officer confirms that he hears the dispatcher’s address and appears to say, “Don’t tell me I’m wrong,” before laughing off the idea that they were at the wrong house, according to body camera video.
Seconds later, one of the officers curses and they all move away from the front door when they hear someone approaching. As officers shined a flashlight at the front door, the person who responded at 5305 was Dotson, who was carrying a handgun, according to the New Mexico Department of Public Safety.
When the officers see the man at the door begin to raise his firearm, one of them yells, “Hey, hands up!” The officers then begin firing what sounds like approximately eight shots at Dotson, based on body camera video. New Mexico authorities say the three officers each fired at least one round.
After the initial gunshots conclude, Dotson’s wife can be heard on the video yelling, “Oh my God!” Moments later, Dotson’s wife grabbed her dead husband’s gun and began shooting from the doorway, video shows.
“Please, no,” says one of the officers just before exchanging shots with the woman.
The shooting went back and forth until he realized they were cops and proceeded to put down his gun and carry out their orders, authorities said.
“This is the police department,” one of the officers said, according to the video. “We are here to help you”.
It was then that the woman asked for his help, unaware that the officers were the ones who mistakenly killed her husband. When police finally entered the home, Dotson was wearing a gown as she lay lifeless next to a gun, video shows. A police radio official confirmed that all three of the Dotsons’ children were upstairs at the time of the fatal encounter.
Dotson was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the New Mexico State Police. Dotson’s wife has not been charged with any crime for exchanging gunfire with police.
Police said Dotson’s family and his attorney viewed the videos at the San Juan County District Attorney’s Office before they were released Friday. Authorities say two of the officers have been on the Farmington force for five years, while the other has been a member for three years.
Dotson was an auto technician in Farmington, according to his LinkedIn profile. His colleagues praised him on LinkedIn for knowing “how to get the best out of your coworkers while maintaining a professional attitude.”
In the days since the shooting, Hebbe, the Farmington police chief, has repeatedly expressed remorse over an incident in the wrong place.
“I can’t tell you what happened in this case,” he said at a recent news conference. “The results are terrible.”
