The family of a man fatally shot in New Mexico by police officers responding to the wrong house sued the department for wrongful death and other claims in federal court, according to a complaint filed on Friday in the U.S. District Court of New Mexico.
Robert Dotson, 52, was shot and killed in the doorway of his house in Farmington after local police officers opened fire after they said they saw he had a gun.
Police knocked on Dotson’s door at 11:30 p.m. on April 5, according to the complaint filed in court. Dotson grabbed his gun from the top of the refrigerator and went to open the front door. The complaint says “police vehicles were parked down the street and did not have their lights on.”
Three officers standing outside the door immediately opened fire, according to the complaint. Dotson was hit by 12 bullets. His wife, Kimberly, wearing just her robe, came down the stairs to find out what happened, the complaint says, and the officers fired an additional 19 bullets at her but missed.
New Mexico State Police issued a statement saying that Farmington police were responding to a domestic violence call but went to the wrong address.
He opened the door with a gun in his hand. It says nothing about him running out. Additionally no where does it say his wife shot at anyone. Instead it says the new widow and her children were hand cuffed and driven to the police station separately.
Look at the body cam footage. What I meant by running out was the rapid opening of the door, ready to kill. Not sprinting down the driveway. That the wife opened fire is also well documented.
Don’t forget to downvote the reality that does not fit your opinion.