The Farmington Police mistakenly went to 5305 Valley View Avenue instead of the dispatched 5308 on April 5, 2023. Homeowner Robert Dotson opened his door holding a handgun and was shot 12 times; his wife later fired toward officers but was not injured. New Mexico’s Department of Justice declined criminal charges in January 2024, and a federal judge granted the officers qualified immunity on the Fourth Amendment claim in May 2025. The Dotson family later accepted a $6 million civil settlement paid by Travelers Insurance, with no admission of liability.
Farmington Pays $6 Million After Officers Shot Homeowner at Wrong House
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Three Farmington, N.M., police officers searching for a reported domestic-violence incident approached the wrong house late on April 5, 2023. Within moments of the mistaken knock at 5305 Valley View Avenue, 52-year-old homeowner Robert Dotson was fatally shot; his wife exchanged gunfire with officers before realizing they were law enforcement.
What Happened
Officers Daniel Estrada, Dylan Goodluck and Waylon Wasson were dispatched to 5308 Valley View Avenue at about 11:30 p.m., according to the New Mexico Department of Public Safety. Instead, they approached a nearby house numbered 5305. A subsequent federal-court record found the error was caused in part by conflicting navigation information: Wasson relied on his patrol car's mobile data terminal, which placed the destination on the south side of the street, while Goodluck checked Google Maps and saw the correct address on the north side.
Body-camera footage quoted in the court record shows Goodluck saying “third house on the left” as he exited his vehicle, but he deferred to Wasson's seniority and the officers went to 5305. Wasson knocked, announced "Police Department," and knocked two more times after receiving no answer. As someone approached the door, Dotson opened the screen door holding a handgun; the federal court found video showing him raise the weapon toward officers.
The Shooting And Immediate Aftermath
Wasson yelled for Dotson to put his hands up, and all three officers opened fire. Dotson was struck 12 times. The court estimated that only about two seconds elapsed between Dotson opening the door and officers firing. After Dotson fell back into the house, his wife, Kimberly Dotson, came downstairs, screamed, opened the screen door and fired toward the officers. Wasson and Estrada returned fire; Goodluck did not. Kimberly Dotson was not hit, nor were the officers. Additional Farmington officers later secured the scene.
Criminal And Civil Reviews
New Mexico's Department of Justice completed a criminal review of both shootings in January 2024 and concluded that criminal prosecution could not be sustained. The department relied in part on an independent analysis by University of South Carolina law professor and former officer Seth Stoughton, who determined Dotson’s raised weapon presented an imminent threat and that Kimberly Dotson’s subsequent shot created a second imminent threat.
The Dotson family pursued civil claims against the City of Farmington and the three officers, including a Fourth Amendment unreasonable-seizure claim in federal court. In May 2025, U.S. District Judge Matthew Garcia granted the officers qualified immunity on the federal constitutional claim. Judge Garcia’s ruling described the officers’ failure to confirm the address as negligent but concluded that negligence alone did not amount to a Fourth Amendment violation and that the officers’ use of deadly force was objectively reasonable once Dotson raised the firearm.
The family also filed state-law claims under the New Mexico Civil Rights Act and the Tort Claims Act in state court in July 2025.
Settlement
More than three years after the shooting, the parties resolved the remaining civil claims. Documents obtained by the Tri-City Record through a public-records request show the Dotson family received a $6 million settlement to release the City of Farmington and the three officers from further claims. Farmington City Attorney Jennifer Breakell told the outlet the payment came through Travelers Insurance and that the settlement did not include an admission of liability.
What This Means
The episode produced two distinct legal outcomes tied to the same undisputed error: a criminal review that declined prosecution, a federal ruling granting qualified immunity on the Fourth Amendment claim, and a sizeable civil settlement resolving the family’s remaining claims. The case highlights how negligent errors by officers can generate complex criminal, civil and policy consequences even when prosecutors decline to file charges.
Sources: New Mexico Department of Public Safety; federal court record; New Mexico Department of Justice review; Tri-City Record public-records reporting.
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