Authorities in New Mexico will not seek charges against three police officers involved in a fatal shooting after arriving at the wrong house last year.
Officers in the town of Farmington fired dozens of shots and killed Robert Dotson, 52, because he appeared at the door of his home holding a gun.
At the time, the officers were responding to a domestic violence call from a house across the street.
The Dotson family filed a lawsuit against the department last year.
According to a complaint filed by the family in court, police arrived at the Dotson residence late on 5 April, 2023 and “parked down the street and did not have their lights on”.
When Mr Dotson opened his front door holding a weapon, police immediately opened fire, striking him 12 times. Another 19 shots were fired at his wife Kimberly, who was unharmed during the incident. Police later said she opened fire on officers with a pistol.
Not opening the door wouldn’t save you. There was a no-knock warrant where a man was woken up when the police had kicked in his door and shined a light in his face. He had a gun next to his bed (I can’t remember if he was even holding it). He had been awake something like less than 8 seconds before the cops shot him because they saw the gun.
Maybe not but your chances are a whole lot better…
Ah I think I saw the body cam footage on that one, quite sobering to see.
Sleeping next to a gun sounds like a bad idea too. Unless you’re being hunted by assassins or something along those lines. Not that it’s that guys fault, because reaching for a weapon when you are startled awake is a completely natural response, but just from a safety perspective that feels like a really terrible place to keep a gun.
Just depends on the setting.
Small kids at home? Yeah that’s dumb AF.
Living alone? Who cares where it is, but concealing/securing it would help prevent it from being stolen if your house is broken into.