Farmington Police Chief Steve Hebbe on Friday released records, including footage from body-worn cameras and related 911 calls, from the shooting April 5 that led to the death of Robert Dotson.
“The release of these records is consistent with the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records, as well as our desire to be forthcoming and transparent regarding this tragic event,” Hebbe said during a news conference at the Farmington Police Station. “Ultimately, I believe that the footage will help to provide a greater understanding of what transpired.”
Bodycam footage showed three officers involved in the shooting. Their names were redacted and will not be released until the New Mexico State Police concludes interviews with the officers, most likely late next week, according to Hebbe.
“Two of the officers have been with the department for approximately five years. The third officer has been with the department for approximately three years,” Hebbe said, adding that the third officer was a community service officer, who became a police officer nine months ago.
All three officers were placed on paid administrative leave for the length of the investigation, per department policy.
Farmington officers were dispatched about 11:30 p.m. April 5, to 5308 Valley View Ave. in response to a domestic violence call. The footage began when three officers arrived on Valley View Avenue. They approached the house at 5305 Valley View Ave.
When asked about officers approaching the wrong house, Hebbe said, “That’s the worst part of this for us. … I can’t give you that explanation right now. That is part of the interviews and that’s what the state police will be looking at.”
Video footage from Officer 1 showed the house number as the officer approached the front of the house.
As the footage continued, it showed officers approach the door at 5305 Valley View Ave. Officer 1 knocked on the door and identified himself as Farmington police three times.
Between the second and third knocks, the officers discussed the address.
Officer 1 asked, “Is this 43 or 5308?”
Officer 3 responded, but the audio was unclear.
“Is this not 5308? That’s what it said right there, right?” Officer 1 asked.
Officer 2 said, “No, it said 5305, didn’t it?”
Hebbe said it was obvious in the video that officers were at the wrong address.
“You know that, that really is something that the officers are going to have to talk with the state police about it and certainly, you know, the results of it are terrible.”
Audio on the video showed Officer 1 requested confirmation of the address and dispatch confirmed the 5308 address. Officers backed away from the door and approximately four seconds later, Dotson opened the screen door, and pointed a firearm at the officers. Officers drew their firearms and fired their weapons, fatally striking Dotson.
About a minute later, a woman, later identified as Dotson’s wife, appeared at the front door with a firearm and fired at officers, who returned fire. The released footage ended after the conclusion of shots being exchanged.
All three officers fired their weapons during the shooting. How many shots were fired by Farmington officers is part of the state police investigation.
The Dotson family, along with their attorney, reviewed the video footage at the San Juan County District Attorney’s Office before its public release. “We arranged through the district attorney's office to show the video to them, and that happened yesterday,” Hebbe said, adding that practice was standard procedure.
“We have good cooperation with the DA’s office, they will almost always reach out to the family before we release video and let the family see it. My understanding is a number of family members did come including their attorney,” Hebbe said. Hebbe was not present, but both deputy chiefs were there.
Farmington police later responded to 5308 Valley View Ave., the location of the original call, at about 2:51 a.m. April 6. Officers spoke to occupants and made a report of the shooting. No one was hurt and no arrests were made.
Hebbe said that the shooting will be investigated and state police will try to determine why officers went to the wrong address, but there are several reasons why police might be outside a person’s house at night.
“You know if your car’s doors are standing open, and the police officer sees it, we're gonna go up to the house and make contact with you, because maybe your car has been, been burglarized,” he said. “If your garage door’s open, you know we're gonna go up and knock on the door even at two in the morning. I've done that. So there's a lot of reasons that an officer could be out there knocking on the door in this case, you know, I believe that we were just at the wrong address.”
“All of us – the men and women of the Farmington Police Department – recognize the severity of this shooting. We will do everything possible to more fully understand what transpired here,” Chief Hebbe said in a news release. “Once again, we wish to express our condolences to the Dotson family and as your chief of police, I wish to convey how very sorry I am that this tragedy occurred. We will continue to provide updates as we are able.”
The investigation of the officer-involved shooting is being conducted by the New Mexico State Police and remains active and ongoing. FPD stated in a media release that it is cooperating fully with the state police as the investigation continues.
Additional information and records will be released as soon as they are available for lawful release.
