Police have released disturbing body camera footage showing officers shooting a New Mexico man after they mistakenly went to his home earlier this month while responding to a domestic violence call.
Videos released Friday by the Farmington Police Department show all three officers open fire on Robert Dotson, 52, after authorities say he answered the door with a gun at 11:30 p.m. on April 5.
Officers repeatedly announced themselves at the door and knocked three times with no response. While waiting, they asked the dispatcher to confirm the address, show videos.
“Isn’t that 5308?” an officer asks. They were at 5305.
Less than a minute later, the door opens and an officer shines a flashlight on Dotson as he backs away. Slow motion video of the incident then shows Dotson appearing to raise a gun at the officers. The officer yells for him to put his hands down as he fires more shots.
A woman is then heard screaming as she approaches the door and fires a gun at the officers, causing them to return fire. She was not injured and complied with the officers’ commands once she realized they were police, authorities said.
A recording of the 911 call, also released by police, captures Dotson’s 14-year-old daughter crying as she calls for help after her father is shot.
Why the officers went to the wrong address remains part of the ongoing investigation, which is being led by the New Mexico State Police, authorities said.
“All of us — the men and women of the Farmington Police Department — recognize the seriousness of this incident,” the Farmington Police Department said in a statement when the video was released. “We will do everything we can to ensure a fuller understanding of what happened. I think the footage will help us better understand what happened.”
All three officers, who have not been publicly identified, have been placed on administrative leave. Two of the officers have been with the department for about five years, and the third for about three years, police said.
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