Those conservatives who defend the misinterpreted and distorted Second Amendment are Darwinian to the bone: No need for law enforcement by government since every citizen can enforce it themselves, and let the laws of the jungle rule and natural selection eliminate the imbeciles and the morons from the gene pool (which may unfortunately draw the demographics of the country way down). Then maybe America can outgrow its infantile attachment to obsolete ideas from three centuries ago.
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Police Went to the Wrong New Mexico House and Killed the Homeowner. Now the City Is Paying $6 Million
Olivia Richman
Wed, September 23, 2026
Image Credit: KRQE / YouTube.
Three Farmington police officers mistakenly approached the wrong New Mexico home, leading to the fatal shooting of homeowner Robert Dotson and a subsequent gunfight with his wife, resulting in a $6 million settlement for the Dotson family.
Three Farmington police officers were looking for a possible domestic violence call when they walked up to a New Mexico home late one night in April 2023.
They were supposed to be at 5308 Valley View Avenue. Instead, they approached 5305, knocked repeatedly and announced themselves as police.
Within minutes, 52-year-old homeowner Robert Dotson was dead. His wife had also exchanged gunfire with the officers before realizing the people outside her home were police.
More than three years later, the civil fallout has ended with a substantial payment. The Tri-City Record reported that Dotson's family received $6 million to settle its claims against the City of Farmington and the three officers involved. The outlet obtained the settlement documents through a New Mexico public-records request.
The agreement did not include an admission of liability, according to the documents. Farmington City Attorney Jennifer Breakell told the publication that the claim had been settled and that the payment came through Travelers Insurance rather than directly from the city's treasury.
Olivia Richman
Wed, September 23, 2026
Image Credit: KRQE / YouTube.
Three Farmington police officers mistakenly approached the wrong New Mexico home, leading to the fatal shooting of homeowner Robert Dotson and a subsequent gunfight with his wife, resulting in a $6 million settlement for the Dotson family.
Three Farmington police officers were looking for a possible domestic violence call when they walked up to a New Mexico home late one night in April 2023.
They were supposed to be at 5308 Valley View Avenue. Instead, they approached 5305, knocked repeatedly and announced themselves as police.
Within minutes, 52-year-old homeowner Robert Dotson was dead. His wife had also exchanged gunfire with the officers before realizing the people outside her home were police.
More than three years later, the civil fallout has ended with a substantial payment. The Tri-City Record reported that Dotson's family received $6 million to settle its claims against the City of Farmington and the three officers involved. The outlet obtained the settlement documents through a New Mexico public-records request.
The agreement did not include an admission of liability, according to the documents. Farmington City Attorney Jennifer Breakell told the publication that the claim had been settled and that the payment came through Travelers Insurance rather than directly from the city's treasury.
The Wrong Door
The basic mistake has never been in dispute.
According to the New Mexico Department of Public Safety, Farmington police received the domestic violence call at about 11:30 p.m. on April 5, 2023. The reported location was 5308 Valley View Avenue.
Officers Daniel Estrada, Dylan Goodluck and Waylon Wasson instead approached 5305.
A later federal court ruling provides considerably more detail about how they got there.
Wasson used his patrol vehicle's mobile data terminal, which incorrectly placed the destination on the south side of the street. Goodluck independently checked Google Maps, which correctly showed 5308 on the north side.
Goodluck even said "third house on the left" as he got out of his vehicle, according to the undisputed facts recounted by the court. But Wasson headed down the right side of the street, and Goodluck, who continued questioning whether they were going the right way, deferred to Wasson's seniority.
The officers reached the Dotsons' home. Its number, 5305, was marked and illuminated by a floodlight.
The basic mistake has never been in dispute.
According to the New Mexico Department of Public Safety, Farmington police received the domestic violence call at about 11:30 p.m. on April 5, 2023. The reported location was 5308 Valley View Avenue.
Officers Daniel Estrada, Dylan Goodluck and Waylon Wasson instead approached 5305.
A later federal court ruling provides considerably more detail about how they got there.
Wasson used his patrol vehicle's mobile data terminal, which incorrectly placed the destination on the south side of the street. Goodluck independently checked Google Maps, which correctly showed 5308 on the north side.
Goodluck even said "third house on the left" as he got out of his vehicle, according to the undisputed facts recounted by the court. But Wasson headed down the right side of the street, and Goodluck, who continued questioning whether they were going the right way, deferred to Wasson's seniority.
The officers reached the Dotsons' home. Its number, 5305, was marked and illuminated by a floodlight.
Seconds To Spare
Wasson knocked and announced, "Police Department." He knocked again about 28 seconds later and identified Farmington Police, according to the federal ruling.
After getting no response, the officers asked dispatch to contact the person who had placed the original call.
Wasson knocked a third time.
Goodluck then voiced the problem. The body-camera exchange quoted in the court record shows the officers questioning whether they were at 5308 before Goodluck said they appeared to be standing at 5305.
Wasson asked dispatch to repeat the assigned address.
The answer was 5308 Valley View Avenue.
Moments later, the officers heard someone approaching the door from inside the Dotson home.
Dotson opened the screen door holding a handgun. The federal court found that body-camera video showed him putting both hands on the weapon and raising it toward Wasson and Estrada.
Wasson yelled for Dotson to put his hands up as all three officers opened fire.
Dotson was shot 12 times.
The court calculated that only about two seconds passed between Dotson opening his front door and the officers shooting him.
Wasson knocked and announced, "Police Department." He knocked again about 28 seconds later and identified Farmington Police, according to the federal ruling.
After getting no response, the officers asked dispatch to contact the person who had placed the original call.
Wasson knocked a third time.
Goodluck then voiced the problem. The body-camera exchange quoted in the court record shows the officers questioning whether they were at 5308 before Goodluck said they appeared to be standing at 5305.
Wasson asked dispatch to repeat the assigned address.
The answer was 5308 Valley View Avenue.
Moments later, the officers heard someone approaching the door from inside the Dotson home.
Dotson opened the screen door holding a handgun. The federal court found that body-camera video showed him putting both hands on the weapon and raising it toward Wasson and Estrada.
Wasson yelled for Dotson to put his hands up as all three officers opened fire.
Dotson was shot 12 times.
The court calculated that only about two seconds passed between Dotson opening his front door and the officers shooting him.
Another Gunfight
The encounter did not end when Dotson fell back inside the house.
Kimberly Dotson came downstairs and found her husband in the entryway. The federal court record says she began screaming.
Wasson ordered her to put her hands up. She opened the screen door and fired her gun generally toward the officers.
Wasson and Estrada returned fire. Goodluck did not.
Kimberly Dotson was not hit, and neither were the officers. Other Farmington police eventually arrived and got her to put down her weapon and leave the house.
The New Mexico Department of Justice later reviewed both shootings for possible criminal prosecution.
Its January 2024 review concluded that criminal charges against the officers could not be sustained.
The department relied in part on an analysis by University of South Carolina law professor and former police officer Seth Stoughton. He concluded that Dotson presented an imminent threat when he raised the gun toward the officers and that Kimberly Dotson created a second imminent threat when she later fired outside.
The Department of Justice closed its criminal review but made an important distinction: its decision addressed possible criminal liability and did not decide potential civil or disciplinary liability.
A Different Question
The civil case therefore examined something different.
Dotson's estate and family sued Farmington and the officers, including a claim that the fatal shooting amounted to an unreasonable seizure under the Fourth Amendment.
U.S. District Judge Matthew Garcia granted the officers qualified immunity on that federal claim in May 2025.
Garcia did not ignore the address mistake. His ruling described the officers as having erroneously entered Dotson's property without confirming the address and characterized their conduct leading them there as negligent.
But that was not enough to establish the alleged Fourth Amendment violation.
The judge concluded that the officers did not act recklessly by approaching the wrong house and that, once Dotson raised his gun toward them at close range, their use of deadly force was objectively reasonable under the circumstances.
The Fourth Amendment claim was dismissed with prejudice.
That ruling did not dispose of every avenue available to the family. The litigation also included claims under New Mexico law, including the New Mexico Civil Rights Act and Tort Claims Act.
The encounter did not end when Dotson fell back inside the house.
Kimberly Dotson came downstairs and found her husband in the entryway. The federal court record says she began screaming.
Wasson ordered her to put her hands up. She opened the screen door and fired her gun generally toward the officers.
Wasson and Estrada returned fire. Goodluck did not.
Kimberly Dotson was not hit, and neither were the officers. Other Farmington police eventually arrived and got her to put down her weapon and leave the house.
The New Mexico Department of Justice later reviewed both shootings for possible criminal prosecution.
Its January 2024 review concluded that criminal charges against the officers could not be sustained.
The department relied in part on an analysis by University of South Carolina law professor and former police officer Seth Stoughton. He concluded that Dotson presented an imminent threat when he raised the gun toward the officers and that Kimberly Dotson created a second imminent threat when she later fired outside.
The Department of Justice closed its criminal review but made an important distinction: its decision addressed possible criminal liability and did not decide potential civil or disciplinary liability.
A Different Question
The civil case therefore examined something different.
Dotson's estate and family sued Farmington and the officers, including a claim that the fatal shooting amounted to an unreasonable seizure under the Fourth Amendment.
U.S. District Judge Matthew Garcia granted the officers qualified immunity on that federal claim in May 2025.
Garcia did not ignore the address mistake. His ruling described the officers as having erroneously entered Dotson's property without confirming the address and characterized their conduct leading them there as negligent.
But that was not enough to establish the alleged Fourth Amendment violation.
The judge concluded that the officers did not act recklessly by approaching the wrong house and that, once Dotson raised his gun toward them at close range, their use of deadly force was objectively reasonable under the circumstances.
The Fourth Amendment claim was dismissed with prejudice.
That ruling did not dispose of every avenue available to the family. The litigation also included claims under New Mexico law, including the New Mexico Civil Rights Act and Tort Claims Act.
The Final Number
The family's state-court lawsuit was filed in July 2025 and named Farmington along with Estrada, Goodluck and Wasson.
The case ultimately ended without a trial establishing civil liability.
The settlement documents obtained by the Tri-City Record state that the Dotson family released the city and the officers from further claims in exchange for the $6 million payment.
The agreement also says Farmington and the officers did not admit liability.
That leaves two different legal outcomes attached to the same undisputed mistake: New Mexico's criminal review concluded the officers could not be prosecuted for the shootings, and a federal judge rejected the estate's Fourth Amendment claim.
The civil claims nevertheless ended with a $6 million settlement.
The family's state-court lawsuit was filed in July 2025 and named Farmington along with Estrada, Goodluck and Wasson.
The case ultimately ended without a trial establishing civil liability.
The settlement documents obtained by the Tri-City Record state that the Dotson family released the city and the officers from further claims in exchange for the $6 million payment.
The agreement also says Farmington and the officers did not admit liability.
That leaves two different legal outcomes attached to the same undisputed mistake: New Mexico's criminal review concluded the officers could not be prosecuted for the shootings, and a federal judge rejected the estate's Fourth Amendment claim.
The civil claims nevertheless ended with a $6 million settlement.
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