FARMINGTON, NM ― Police released body camera footage and 911 audio Friday of the officer-involved shooting death of a homeowner after they responded to the wrong home for a domestic violence call.
Farmington Police officers killed Robert Dotson, 52, when he answered the door with a handgun on April 5 at about 11:30 p.m., police first said.
Newly released videos show unidentified officers open fire immediately after Dotson opened the door with a gun. Officers opened fire again after a woman in the video was heard screaming. Police previously said the woman, Dotson’s wife, returned fire at the officers. He was not injured.
Their three children were upstairs, officials said in the footage. Farmington is a city of over 45,000 people in northwestern New Mexico, near the Colorado border.
“All of us – the men and women of the Farmington Police Department – recognize the seriousness of this incident,” Chief Steven Hebbe said in a statement.
According to a news release from the department on Friday, additional “records and files” are expected to be released after review and redaction.
“We will do everything we can to better understand what happened here. Again, we want to express our condolences to the Dotson family and as your police chief, I want to express how sorry I am that this tragedy happened. . will continue to provide updates as we can,” Hebbe said.
Farmington police said Dotson’s family members and their attorneys are reviewing the footage.
BEFORE: NMSP is investigating the Farmington Police shooting. Here’s what we know
What is shown in the body cam footage happened that night
New Mexico state police, who are investigating the shooting, said Farmington police received a call for a domestic violence incident at 5308 Valley View Avenue.
“Once on scene, officers mistakenly approached 5305 Valley View Avenue instead of 5308 Valley View Avenue,” state police said in a statement.
The video shows three responding officers approaching a home with an address clearly posted and flashing lights and knocking three times on the door. They identified themselves to Farmington police three times, the video shows.
While waiting for the door to be answered, the officers asked a dispatcher to confirm the address and the dispatcher stated the number of a different house.
“Why the officers approached the wrong address remains part of the ongoing investigation,” Farmington police said.
Within minutes, Dotson was shown coming to the door with a gun.
“Hands up,” an officer yelled as they immediately began shooting at Dotson. Officers returned and told dispatch that a person was at the door.
A few moments later, a woman’s voice was heard inside the house screaming. “Oh my god!” he shouted. An officer told him to put his hands up, but then began shooting at him.
An officer can be heard telling other officers who arrived on the scene that the woman picked up the weapon Dotson was holding and pointed it at the officers. Her name has not been released but the police identified her as Dotson’s wife.
The woman can be heard screaming from inside the house minutes later, “Help! Someone shot my husband. Please! Please! My kids are upstairs.”
After the initial shooting, the wife of Mr. Dotson, who was also armed with a handgun, fired from the front door of the residence, state police said last week. “Again, the officer(s) opened fire. When he realized that the individuals outside the residence were officers, he put the gun down and followed the officer’s commands,” state police said.
After he was taken into custody and led away from the home, an officer can be heard saying, “Get him in cuffs,” the video shows.
Dotson’s daughter called 911 after he was shot
Audio has been released from a 911 call one of Dotson’s children made after he was shot.
“There were gunshots in my house and my dad got shot,” he told a 911 operator. “My mom was screaming… I didn’t know if my dad was OK.”
He and two other children were inside the house when their father was shot.
Who were the officers who shot Dotson?
The Farmington Police Department has redacted the names of the three officers involved from the released video.
The department said the three have been placed on paid administrative leave while the investigation continues. According to a statement, two of the officers have worked for the department for five years and the third for about three years.
This article originally appeared in USA TODAY: New Mexico police release body cam showing fatal wrong-address shooting