Police Responding to Wrong Home Unintentionally Shoot Armed Homeowner

When Farmington, New Mexico police responded to a domestic violence call by going to the door at the wrong home, they were greeted by an armed homeowner.  The police responded by shooting and killing the homeowner, 52-year-old Robert Dotson. Police assert that they had announced themselves and had asked the dispatcher to call to tell the homeowner that they were at the door.

Dotson’s wife, who was also armed, responded to the police once they fired at her husband by shooting back at police. However, “[o]nce she realized that the individuals outside the residence were officers, she put the gun down and complied with the officer’s commands,” they said. Dotson was pronounced dead at the scene. His wife was uninjured.

“Robert was a great neighbor ever since that house was built and they moved in,” a neighbor said. “He just always watched out for the neighborhood. I used to have an inflatable pool on my back porch and my Rottweiler got into it and couldn’t get out and he noticed it and literally saved my dog’s life.”

New Mexico state police are investigating.

Source:

Scarlett Lisjak, “NMSP: Farmington Police Shoot and Kill Man After Responding to Wrong Home,” kob.com (April 7, 2023).