Judge finds police acted reasonably in shooting New Mexico man while at wrong address
The shooting of Robert Dotson, 52, in the northwestern New Mexico city of Farmington prompted a civil lawsuit by his family members, though public prosecutors found there was no basis to pursue criminal charges against officers after a review of events. The suit alleged that the family was deprived of its civil rights and officers acted unreasonably.
Hearing a knock at the door late on April 5, 2023, Dotson put on a robe, went downstairs and grabbed a handgun before answering. Police outside shined a flashlight as Dotson appeared and raised the firearm before three police officers opened fire, killing him. Dotson did not shoot.
“Ultimately, given the significant threat Dotson posed when he pointed his firearm at officers ... the immediacy of that threat, the proximity between Dotson and the defendant officers, and considering that the events unfolded in only a few seconds, the court finds that the defendant officers reasonably applied deadly force,” U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Garcia said in a written court opinion.
https://apnews.com/article/new-mexico-police-shooting-lawsuit-farmington-8e7843eaf509663df98bbf2ce01be032Open linkView original on sh.itjust.works
And if that wasn't enough for you
Stormtroopers.
and frank reynolds, anyways i started blasting.
I think the lesson I'm learning is people should answer the door with a primed grenade.
Maybe more guns would have helped
these cops are murderers. those who did not allow criminal charges are themselves murderers. they all deserve prison and maybe the wall.
There is no maybe about it. That's the only recourse we have when the system actively works against the people on matters of violence.
No, just the wall…they deserved to be publicly executed.
Is it reasonable to expect cops get the address right when they come to raid a house? No. Is it reasonable to shoot an innocent man trying to protect his house and family? Yes, if you're a cop.
If I see a cop at my door, im not answering. No one is safe in the presence of police.
Agreed.
The crazy thing about this is that 2nd amendment nuts are always super defensive about the police in cases like this, even though this is obviously a case that shows you don't have a right to bear arms if the police can just roll up to your house in the middle of the night and shoot you with impunity if you have a gun in your house or are holding one when you answer the door.
Yeah the right to bear arms here is more like the right for cops to shoot you for their own mistake. Similar to how "right to work" is more like right for employers to fire you whenever and however.
"At will" is the employment one regarding being able to be terminated without cause (as long as it's not for a protected reason). "Right to work" is the one about not being required to join a union. But still, your point is valid.
Thanks for the clarification, I thankfully have to worry about neither as a Canadian.
right to work means you can't be forced to join a union. at-will employment is the right for employers to fire you whenever and however. fyi.
Gotta love 'Murica giving employers two ways to fuck their workers.
The NRA refused to support Philandro Castile who was shot for legally owning a firearm. Their spokesperson said on one of the Meet the Press style shows that the NRA has a lot of cops as members and they don’t want to upset them by supporting a black guy shot by cops.
There are way better pro gun orgs than the NRA. The NRA is no longer the powerhouse it once claimed to be. Any pro gun guy worth their salt would have jumped ship from the NRA by now.
What sets the others orgs apart from the NRA nowadays?
The GOA actually goes to court, same with the FPC. Big win from the NAGR regarding frt triggers. Basically all these other groups actually do stuff to protect the rights of firearms owners while the NRA just sits there collecting money and dust while at the same time supporting restrictions on guns for law abiding citizens. When is the last time the NRA has done something that isn't "compromise" with authoritarians who want to take our rights away? It's been a long time
I remember seeing a lot of them cheering on the Indiana law that specifically legalized shooting cops that enter w/o a warrant after a (messy) court case:
I'm no fan of 2A at this point but I will say opinions on this are more mixed among gun owners than you might think. A lot of people fucking dragged the NRA for not backing gun owners murdered by cops like Castile.
The Constitution is meaningless anymore. Brownshirts, billionaires, and thugs run the show.
🌎 👨🚀🔫👨🚀
Arm yourselfs
Moral of the story:
Don't wait for the cops to shoot you.
Moral of the story?
Don't live in the US
Who picks up a gun when the doorbell rings?
People who live in high-crime areas.
The person you are replying to likely lives in the UK. It's considered usually not okay outside of the United States to answer the door, holding a firearm.
I say this as a gun owner and avid trap/skeet competitor in a very red State, it is not consider really considered ok here either. If you live in that high a crime community, then you shouldn't even open the door. I had this happen to me once after moving here, delivering pizzas at night to understand the city a little better. I told the manager and they were immediately blacklisted.
People living in the USA
USA! USA! USA!
What a clown car country
This is an absurd question to be asking when the man was literally shot by armed thugs outside of his house in the middle of the night just because he came to the door for the wrong people.
These things happen here.
Clearly the American sense of what is absurd is wildly different to the rest of us.
The question is absurd given the clearly absurd reality of the situation here.
This is a fact of life in the US. What the man did is completely reasonable in the context of the situation.
You seem to be trying to illustrate the fact that there is too much gun violence in the US. Which is of course true.
However, suggesting that what this man did isn't a reasonable reaction to the reality of his situation, is ignorant at best.