{"id":31744,"date":"2023-09-14T23:10:04","date_gmt":"2023-09-15T05:10:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/family-of-farmington-man-shot-by-officers-will-sue-city-and-police\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T01:45:20","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T07:45:20","slug":"family-of-farmington-man-shot-by-officers-will-sue-city-and-police","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/family-of-farmington-man-shot-by-officers-will-sue-city-and-police\/","title":{"rendered":"Family of Farmington man shot by officers will sue city and police"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=6d1c5758-9683-53c0-9f23-9d27e7e9e4c1&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1606\" alt=\"Kimberly Dotson, with her children Julia Dotson and Zach Mora-Dotson, spoke at a press conference April 20 and called for major reform within Farmington Police Department. (Debra Mayeux\/Special to the Tri-City Record)\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Kimberly Dotson, with her children Julia Dotson and Zach Mora-Dotson, spoke at a press conference April 20 and called for major reform within Farmington Police Department. (Debra Mayeux\/Special to the Tri-City Record)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<p>Five months ago, Kimberly Dotson sat in bed with her husband, Robert, making plans for the next few days. It was late \u2013 almost midnight \u2013 when they heard a knock at the front door.<\/p>\n<p>Robert Dotson \u201cgrabbed his robe and put it on. He got down to the middle landing and asked, \u2018Is your gun on the fridge?\u2019\u201d Kimberly said yes.<\/p>\n<p>Those were the last words the couple shared.<\/p>\n<p>When Robert Dotson, 52, opened the door with the gun in his hands, he was shot and killed by Farmington police officers. The three officers involved in the shooting were identified as Waylon Wasson, Daniel Estrada and Dylan Goodluck.<\/p>\n<p>The police officers had mistakenly gone to the Dotsons\u2019  home late April 5 in response to a dispatch call about domestic violence at the home at 5308 Valley View Ave. Dotson was shot at the door of his home across the street at 5305 Valley View Ave.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI lost my life partner. I\u2019m still very lost without him. I can\u2019t work. I\u2019m doing what I can,\u201d Kimberly Dotson said in a Sept. 13 interview at the office of her attorney, Mark Curnutt. During the interview, Curnutt said the Dotson family on Friday, Sept. 15, would file a \u201cwrongful death\u201d lawsuit naming the city of Farmington and Farmington  officers Wasson, Estrada and Goodluck.<\/p>\n<div class=\"naviga-pdf-embed\"><iframe class=\"article-pdf\" src=\"https:\/\/dur-prod-public-pdfs.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/2hLYgNa7hYDPtRC_FqaaCYSCdtk.pdf\" style=\"width:100%;height:500px;border:1px solid #ddd\" loading=\"lazy\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dur-prod-public-pdfs.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/2hLYgNa7hYDPtRC_FqaaCYSCdtk.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dotson, Robert-Doc 1-Plaintiffs' Original Complaint.pdf (Download PDF)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><\/p><\/iframe>\n<p class=\"naviga-pdf-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dur-prod-public-pdfs.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/2hLYgNa7hYDPtRC_FqaaCYSCdtk.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dotson, Robert-Doc 1-Plaintiffs' Original Complaint.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The lawsuit is seeking damages for deprivation of civil rights and injuries pursuant to the New Mexico Tort Claims Act.<\/p>\n<p>Kimberly Dotson added that no one from the city of Farmington reached out to her at any time after the incident.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot saying anything shows a complete lack of empathy,\u201d Curnutt said, adding the family has concerns because the three officers are back on the job.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a pending criminal investigation from the Attorney General\u2019s Office and these officers are back on active duty,\u201d Curnutt said, adding that Goodluck, who was in training at the time of the shooting, has been \u201cpromoted\u201d to the position of officer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have a plethora of emotions on that,\u201d Kimberly Dotson said. \u201cI\u2019m scared not only for myself but everybody in the community\u2019s safety. If these people would have done their jobs correctly the first time, we would not be here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI cannot fathom it in my head.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kimberly Dotson wanted to share the story of the night that changed everything in her life, and she wanted people to know that she and her late husband have a son who works in law enforcement. \u201cWe are not anti-police,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"naviga-element naviga-subheadline1\">The night of the shooting<\/div>\n<p>Her previously unreported account of the night her husband was killed tells a tragic story of a wife and two teenage children who lost a husband and father in a police shooting, and were separated and detained overnight.<\/p>\n<p>The night of April 5, Kimberly Dotson said the couple were startled by someone at their door before midnight. They were upstairs and did not hear police announce themselves, and the police vehicles were parked in the street without their lights on, according to the lawsuit.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t get people knocking on our door that late at night,\u201d Kimberly Dotson said. \u201cIt was a little attention-grabbing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Dotsons\u2019 Dodge truck had been stolen from their driveway a few months earlier, and transients sometimes walked up and down the street. The Dotsons had reason to be on their guard.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor personal protection, he (Robert Dotson) carried his handgun with him, which was kept on the top of the refrigerator in the Dotson residence, not knowing what he might encounter at that late hour,\u201d the lawsuit stated.<\/p>\n<p>When Robert Dotson opened the door, he had the gun in his hand. The lawsuit claimed police did not announce themselves, but discharged their weapons, \u201cfiring 12 bullets into the body of Robert Dotson, killing him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When the gunshots rang out that night, Kimberly Dotson said she didn\u2019t know who was at the door, and she didn\u2019t know who had shot her husband.<\/p>\n<p>She fired the gun as well. Police fired \u201canother 19 rounds\u201d at her, but she was not hit, the lawsuit stated.<\/p>\n<p>Police then announced themselves, according to the lawsuit.<\/p>\n<p>Kimberly Dotson was an ER trauma nurse by profession. \u201cI knew my husband was killed. I didn\u2019t know who killed him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She called out for help, but was arrested.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was very terrified. I felt I was treated very poorly. At one point they were yelling at me to walk down the side of the garage,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Clothed only in a robe that was covered in her husband\u2019s blood, she was placed in handcuffs. She said the robe fell down, exposing her chest.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was begging them to please have the decency to cover me up,\u201d she said, adding the police did not. \u201cThey put me in the back of the police car.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She estimated that the time of her arrest was about midnight, and that she was left in the car for about 45 minutes to an hour.<\/p>\n<p>She did not know where her teenage children were.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo one was communicating with me,\u201d Kimberly said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey took me to the police department, and they put me in a little room with two cheap chairs and a desk,\u201d she said. \u201cI was still in my bloody robe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While she waited for news, her two teenage children were put in the back of a police car and taken to the police department.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey kept the kids on the other side of the building in a lounge-type room with a couch,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Her mother, Charlotte Horsley, was contacted and came to the Farmington Police Department.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey detained the kids for over an hour before they allowed me to be with the kids,\u201d Horsley said. \u201cThey told us we could not discuss anything that happened that night. They had a police officer standing at the door listening, and they had a camera in the room as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It was about 3 or 4 a.m. April 6, when Kimberly said they told her that Horsley and her older son were there with the teenage children.<\/p>\n<p>A New Mexico State Police officer told her the police shot and killed her husband, and then Kimberly was reunited with her children. She was still wearing the bloody robe when she told her daughter about Robert Dotson\u2019s death.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy daughter asked, \u2018Where\u2019s Daddy,\u2019 and I said, \u2018Baby, Daddy\u2019s gone,\u2019 and my daughter fell to her knees,\u201d Kimberly Dotson said.<\/p>\n<p>When her son asked who had killed their father, she told him the Farmington Police. They were in a room surrounded by police officers, and her older son, who is a police officer with another agency, \u201chad to calm him down,\u201d Kimberly Dotson said.<\/p>\n<p>Kimberly Dotson remained in the robe until it was collected as evidence, and said she was given scrubs from the hospital to wear before being allowed to leave the police station at 8 a.m. April 6.<\/p>\n<p>Kimberly Dotson later found out that Wasson, Estrada and Goodluck \u201cdid not initially disclose that they were at the wrong address, which was the error leading to the tragic result and without which it would not have occurred. The officers at the wrong address was discovered by other officers who arrived at the scene,\u201d the lawsuit stated.<\/p>\n<p>Since that day, Kimberly Dotson said she has been unable to return to her job as an ER trauma nurse.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI had a love and passion for my job, and I\u2019ve not been able to do this any longer,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, she and her mother went into business together. They opened Stained Glass Concepts, a stained glass store on East Main Street.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy mom taught me how to do it years and years ago. We teach classes on fusing and sell supplies,\u201d Kimberly said.<\/p>\n<p>She was asked whether the new work has given her peace.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is no peace. It is a distraction,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Kimberly Dotson and her children are seeking compensatory damages for the loss of their husband and father as well as for loss of the couple\u2019s wages and emotional distress.<\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image naviga-align-left alignleft\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=e0a5fa6e-5b88-5580-b17f-bd422087fa72&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2667\" alt=\"Kimberly Doston expressed her anger and desire for no other family to have to experience a similar tragedy at Thursday\u2019s press conference. Debra Mayeux\/Tri-City Record\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Kimberly Doston expressed her anger and desire for no other family to have to experience a similar tragedy at Thursday\u2019s press conference. Debra Mayeux\/Tri-City Record<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image naviga-align-left alignleft\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=591d8c2f-d965-5779-a26a-d2531790a1ba&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2667\" alt=\"Kimberly Dotson, with her children Julia Dotson and Zach Mora-Dotson, spoke at a press conference April 20 and called for major reform within Farmington Police Department. Debra Mayeux\/Tri-City Record\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Kimberly Dotson, with her children Julia Dotson and Zach Mora-Dotson, spoke at a press conference April 20 and called for major reform within Farmington Police Department. Debra Mayeux\/Tri-City Record<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image naviga-align-left alignleft\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=2df79a33-beaf-5cdf-9d83-0af8553b1310&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2548\" alt=\"Robert Dotson, in a family photo provided by Kimberly Dotson. (Courtesy photo)\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Robert Dotson, in a family photo provided by Kimberly Dotson. (Courtesy photo)<\/span><span class=\"credit\">cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=16e91597-4ae4-53c0-a770-addcc96ef343&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" width=\"1534\" height=\"1273\" alt=\"Robert and Kimberly Dotson, in a family photo provided by Kimberly Dotson. (Courtesy photo)\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Robert and Kimberly Dotson, in a family photo provided by Kimberly Dotson. (Courtesy photo)<\/span><span class=\"credit\">cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image naviga-align-left alignleft\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=29ea756f-d66f-5fd4-a7a8-62ed0afe3b72&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2760\" alt=\"Robert and Kimberly Dotson\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Robert and Kimberly Dotson<\/span><span class=\"credit\">cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kimberly Dotson recalls the night her husband was killed<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31745,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[168,799,28],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-31744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-crime","tag-farmington","tag-headlines"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31744","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31744"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31744\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81546,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31744\/revisions\/81546"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31744"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=31744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}