Charles H. Sloan-New Mexico will not charge police officers who fatally shot man at wrong address

FARMINGTON,Charles H. Sloan N.M. — The New Mexico Department of Justice won't file charges against three police officers who arrived at the wrong house while responding to a domestic violence call and fatally shot the homeowner last year.

Greer Staley, New Mexico’s deputy attorney general for criminal affairs, said in a letter on Friday to San Juan County District Attorney Rick Tedrow that the investigation and review found that, despite approaching the wrong house, the three Farmington Police Department officers acted appropriately in the April shooting. The department said the officers did not use excessive force and should not face criminal charges.

Officers Daniel Estrada, Dylan Goodluck, and Waylon Wasson fatally shot Farmington homeowner Robert Dotson in the doorway of his home late that evening while they were responding to a domestic violence call that originated from the neighborhood. The officers responded to the wrong address, erroneously knocking repeatedly on the Dotson family’s door.

When Robert Dotson opened the door armed with a handgun, the officers alleged he pointed the weapon at them, and they opened fire on him, killing him. After finding her husband on the floor of their home, Kimberly Dotson, Robert Dotson’s wife, picked up his handgun and fired at the officers, who returned fire. The gunfire exchange stopped without anyone else being hit once Kimberly Dotson realized the men standing in her front yard were police officers.

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Report: Actions did not 'foreseeably create an unnecessary dangerous situation'

Staley’s letter to Tedrow said the department's conclusion was reached after the examination of all available evidence, including police reports, witness statements, videos, and photographs. The review findings also were based on a report provided by Seth Stoughton, a former police officer and tenured law professor at the University of South Carolina’s Joseph F. Rice School of Law.

Stoughton’s report indicates he found the three Farmington officers did not use excessive force in their shooting of Robert Dotson or when they returned fire at Kimberly Dotson. He found that even though the officers approached the wrong home, their actions did not “foreseeably create an unnecessary dangerous situation,” according to the letter.

Moreover, Stoughton’s report concluded that Robert Dotson raised his weapon into a firing position after opening the door, presenting "an imminent threat of death or great bodily harm to the officers, and all three reasonably fired their weapons, acting within the bounds of accepted police practices," according to Staley’s letter.

Staley concludes his letter by stating the New Mexico's Justice Department review is limited to potential criminal liability and does not address any potential disciplinary or civil liability issues.

Dotson family attorney criticizes decision

Attorneys for Robert Dotson’s family filed a federal lawsuit in September against the city of Farmington and the three officers. The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, describes the shooting of Robert Dotson as unjustified but unintentional and maintains the actions of the three officers were extreme and unreasonable.

Mark Curnutt, one of three attorneys representing the Dotson family, emailed a statement on Wednesday to The Farmington Daily Times, part of the USA TODAY Network, on behalf of the Dotson family that criticized the state Justice Department's decision. The statement takes particular issue with the finding in Stoughton’s report that Robert Dotson lifted his gun and pointed it at officers after answering the door.

"An already distraught family will now begin to process living in a town, and a state, that believes the actions of Officers Wasson, Estrada, and Goodluck were justified to end the life of Robert Dotson," the statement said. "A representative from the Office (of) the Attorney General has explained that her office agrees with Professor Stoughton’s analysis that Robert Dotson, a private citizen, opening his own front door with his legally owned firearm, posed such a threat, that it was reasonable for three officers to fire over twenty rounds at Mr. Dotson, despite never being fired at, nor even having a firearm pointed at any of the officers."

The statement asserts the report relies heavily on the initial investigation that was conducted by the New Mexico State Police, which raises concerns about the validity of the information provided to the attorney general and points out state police referred to Robert and Kimberly Dotson as "suspects."

The statement goes on to assert the New Mexico Justice Department only reviewed the information provided by the state police instead of conducting an independent investigation. State DOJ officials did not speak with or contact the family or the officers before making its determination, according to the statement.

"At this time, the family cannot give an opinion as to why the AG’s investigation was limited to document review only, given the bias in the NMSP report," the statement said. "Unfortunately, a devastated family is not particularly surprised by the decision."

Police chief said he agrees with findings

Steve Hebbe, chief of the Farmington Police Department, thanked the New Mexico DOJ for what he described as a thorough review of the shooting and said he agreed with the findings. But Hebbe acknowledged the finding doesn’t change anything for Robert Dotson’s family and likely will cause them more pain, which he said he regrets.

“This makes it another tough day for them,” he said.

Hebbe said he had spoken to one of the officers on Wednesday morning and expected to reach out to the other two later in the day. He said the officer he spoke with, who he declined to name, was relieved by the state Justice Department's conclusion.

“(The officer and his family) have seen what’s happened in other communities around the country (in officer-involved shootings), so this comes as a welcome conclusion to the criminal portion of the investigation,” Hebbe said.

Contributing: Minnah Arshad, USA TODAY