Robert Dotson family attorneys release statement letters

FARMINGTON, N.M. – After Farmington police officers shot and killed a man while they were at the wrong house, the back-and-forth continues between those officers, and the man’s family.

Three Farmington police officers shot at 52-year-old Robert Dotson in the middle of the night in early April. They killed him moments after he opened his own door holding a gun.

Police had gone to the wrong address, they had announced themselves, but it’s not clear whether Dotson heard them.

The fallout has lasted for weeks, both sides say the other has it all wrong.

After the officers put the blame on Robert Dotson, on Saturday night, an attorney representing his family is making more comments, saying police are not painting an accurate picture of what happened.

The attorney said in a statement that the family members:

“Are outraged by the incendiary, inflammatory, and wholly inaccurate version of events portrayed by the Farmington Police Department.”

They say the department “released a ridiculously false narrative,” and they can’t argue against what the video shows.

Robert Dotson’s wife Kim spoke in front of cameras just two days ago.

“The audacity for you to realize that your incompetence led you to the wrong house that night. You had the nerve to laugh about it,” said Kim Dotson. “Are the big, bold, lighted, right numbers not enough for you to recognize? You not only took away my husband, my best friend, my soulmate, but you took away numerous children’s fathers, my grandpa, my grandbabies’ papa.”

After those comments the three officers and the City of Farmington responded through attorneys. They said they blame Robert Dotson for the circumstances that night.

They say he was in the wrong, and the officers had to defend themselves. 

The family says they will file a lawsuit against the department.