Police in New Mexico have released body camera footage after officers shot and killed a homeowner and shot at the man’s wife earlier this month while responding to the wrong address.
On April 5, at about 11:30 p.m., the Farmington Police Department’s dispatch sent officers to 5308 Valley View Avenue due to a domestic violence call. However, officers walked past the correct house, which was illuminated by an outside light, up to the front door of 5305 Valley View Avenue, knocked on the door, and announced themselves. It was only minutes later that shots were fired.
NEW MEXICO POLICE FATALLY SHOT MAN AFTER OFFICERS VISIT WRONG ADDRESS
WARNING: GRAPHIC ⚠️ Police officers in New Mexico shot and killed a man after responding to the wrong address during a domestic disturbance call. The homeowner was identified as 52-year-old Robert Dotson. pic.twitter.com/TPJp3sXMeW
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In the body camera footage, officers can be heard repeatedly announcing who they are, but they receive no response. They then ask a dispatcher to confirm the address. The dispatcher tells them the correct address, “5308,” which was diagonal from the house where they were knocking.
Shortly after, the homeowner, Robert Dotson, 52, opened the door with a handgun, and the officers immediately began shooting as they backed away. After the officers’ shots, Dotson dropped to the ground.
About a minute later, Dotson’s wife fired shots from a handgun, with hers coming from the inside of the home, but neither she nor any officers were injured in their shootout. She can be heard screaming and crying as she shoots. “Help! Somebody shot my husband. Please! Please! My kids are upstairs,” she said.
She was not charged with a crime.
Dispatchers also received a distressing call from Dotson’s daughter, saying she heard gunfire and her father needed help. She and two other children were inside the home at the time of the shooting, per the Associated Press.
Farmington Police Chief Steve Hebbe addressed the shooting in a video statement on Facebook and expressed condolences for Dotson’s family.
“I am just heartbroken. … Mr. Dotson was not the subject of this call,” Hebbe said in the statement posted on Facebook. “This ending is just unbelievably tragic. I’m extremely sorry that we’re in this position. There’s nothing I can say that will make this better,” Hebbe said. “It’s a terrible event, and I’m heartbroken over it.”
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The three officers involved in the shooting have not been identified and were placed on administrative leave. The New Mexico State Police is investigating the shooting.
Farmington is a city in northwestern New Mexico, home to about 50,000 people.
