A tragic mistake was made on April 5 by police officers in New Mexico USAas they went to the wrong house after a domestic violence call and killed its owner because he had a gun.
Seconds earlier the police officers they realized they were right across from the point where they needed to intervene. The tragic incident was recorded by the cameras worn on their uniforms.
Specifically, while the call was to house number 5308 Valley View Avenue, the patrol of three officers repeatedly knocked on the door of residence number 5305was decorated with an Easter bunny, shouting “police!”.
According to the cameras they wore, which were released by state authorities, Robert Dotson, 52, the owner of the house, finally went to open them – pistol in hand. They shouted at him to drop the gun and throw up his hands; then they shot him.
The man expired a short time later. Then his wife, also armed with a pistol, screamed “oh my god” and opened fire on them – returned fire, before the woman realized they were police officers and put down the gun, unharmed neither she nor the law enforcement officers.
Police said they were unable to explain why their members went to the wrong house, despite repeated communications with the centre. Based on the footage from the body cameras they were wearing, they realized they were not where they were supposed to be moments before the door opened.
The names of the officers have not been released.
The head of the local police, Steve Heby, emphasized that the service is aware of the “gravity” of the incident. “As the chief of police, I want to say that I am devastated” by the “incredibly tragic outcome of this case”he stressed, expressing his “condolences” to the family of the deceased.
According to the Pew Research Center, about 40% of American households own a gun or guns.
Last year, there were about 44,000 gun-related deaths in the US; half were murders, accidents or cases of self-defense, the other half suicides, according to numbers from the specialist website Gun Violence Archive.
Source: News Beast
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