Authorities in New Mexico will not seek charges against three police officers involved in a fatal shooting after arriving at the wrong house last year.

Officers in the town of Farmington fired dozens of shots and killed Robert Dotson, 52, because he appeared at the door of his home holding a gun.

At the time, the officers were responding to a domestic violence call from a house across the street.

The Dotson family filed a lawsuit against the department last year.

According to a complaint filed by the family in court, police arrived at the Dotson residence late on 5 April, 2023 and “parked down the street and did not have their lights on”.

When Mr Dotson opened his front door holding a weapon, police immediately opened fire, striking him 12 times. Another 19 shots were fired at his wife Kimberly, who was unharmed during the incident. Police later said she opened fire on officers with a pistol.

  • DreamlandLividity@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    I would love to see all the people asking to disarm police officers apply for the job once we do. But its so easy to make these claims from the safety of your house. Who cares about actual realistic solutions?

    • originalucifer@moist.catsweat.com
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      9 months ago

      ha, the old ‘youll be sorry, you just wait!’ . yeah i heard this one a bit from several officers, but in my anecdotal experience most actually didnt care about their sidearm a that much. its a reality that most officers never use the gun in the line of duty, which adds to my point.

      form the inside, its amazing that the exact type of officers you would expect, react to this thought experiment the worst. IE, the best cops dont care about carrying lethal weapons their entire shift. the shittiest cops i worked with freaked the fuck out if you even kind of mention taking away their ‘power’. all anecdotal from one small burg, but damn if it wasnt fucking accurate.

      shitty cops seem to lust firearms

      • DreamlandLividity@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        Well, I am not from the US, so maybe my perception is wrong. Or maybe you have a selection bias for some reason, e.g. living in a safe are.

        Either way, if enough cops are ok with it then go ahead, and have them not carry firearms. No issue then.

        • originalucifer@moist.catsweat.com
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          9 months ago

          youre not wrong in that there are parts of the united states that are mini war zones, and disarming the police wouldnt make sense. but those are outliers. its a huuge country and youre talkin <1% of officers. lets make exemptions where needed.

          there is no “united states police”, and so we have 50 tiny countries each with their own versions (city,county,state) of different kinds of police forces, and barely any of it is coordinated or standardized.

    • prole@sh.itjust.works
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      9 months ago

      You idiots act like it isn’t the norm in nearly every other modern nation for cops not to have firearms at all times.

      Never once, in my life, has the presence of a cop’s gun made me feel more safe. Literally the opposite. And I’m white.

      • DreamlandLividity@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        Suprise, not all nations are the same. But hey, if the cops agree or you can find replacement cops for those that don’t, then go for it.

        It is just funy to me that people have so many ideas how cops could do their jobs better, and hate on them but refuse to actually become cops and put it in practice.

        • girlfreddy@lemmy.caOP
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          9 months ago

          … but refuse to actually become cops and put it in practice.

          The thin blue line would make sure I would die quickly, well before I could push for change.

          Cause that’s how cops roll.

    • Ignisnex@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      UK police only carry a baton and pepper spray my dude. Last I checked, they weren’t hurting for recruitment.