Authorities in New Mexico will not seek charges against three police officers involved in a fatal shooting after arriving at the wrong house last year.
Officers in the town of Farmington fired dozens of shots and killed Robert Dotson, 52, because he appeared at the door of his home holding a gun.
At the time, the officers were responding to a domestic violence call from a house across the street.
The Dotson family filed a lawsuit against the department last year.
According to a complaint filed by the family in court, police arrived at the Dotson residence late on 5 April, 2023 and “parked down the street and did not have their lights on”.
When Mr Dotson opened his front door holding a weapon, police immediately opened fire, striking him 12 times. Another 19 shots were fired at his wife Kimberly, who was unharmed during the incident. Police later said she opened fire on officers with a pistol.
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I would love to see all the people asking to disarm police officers apply for the job once we do. But its so easy to make these claims from the safety of your house. Who cares about actual realistic solutions?
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Well, I am not from the US, so maybe my perception is wrong. Or maybe you have a selection bias for some reason, e.g. living in a safe are.
Either way, if enough cops are ok with it then go ahead, and have them not carry firearms. No issue then.
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Sounds good then
You idiots act like it isn’t the norm in nearly every other modern nation for cops not to have firearms at all times.
Never once, in my life, has the presence of a cop’s gun made me feel more safe. Literally the opposite. And I’m white.
Suprise, not all nations are the same. But hey, if the cops agree or you can find replacement cops for those that don’t, then go for it.
It is just funy to me that people have so many ideas how cops could do their jobs better, and hate on them but refuse to actually become cops and put it in practice.
The thin blue line would make sure I would die quickly, well before I could push for change.
Cause that’s how cops roll.
How does that work? I thought being a cop was not so dangerous that they needed a gun at all times…
UK police only carry a baton and pepper spray my dude. Last I checked, they weren’t hurting for recruitment.
UK has almost no privately owned guns. US has more guns than people and its gun laws are nuts.
UK leading by example then. But riddle me this, how often is a firearm needed for an officer doing their everyday duties? Traffic stops, patrols, responding to calls. How often is it explicitly needed to be actively carrying a loaded firearm to a inherently non violent situation before having assessed it? I honestly have no idea. Is the expectation in the US that you’ll just get straight up murdered for doing your job? Is that how you guys live?
That’s the gist of what they’re taught, yeah. It shouldn’t take much digging to find “training” videos that are essentially: cop walks up to man in parking lot, man pulls a knife and lunges at cop instantly. The moral? Everyone is ready to kill you.
How often do you need your seatbelt? Should you still wear it anyway? And there are situations when wearing a seatbelt can kill you where you would survive without it.
The idea is the same with cops. A properly trained cop carying a weapon all the time would be safer overall by being able to react to violent situations while not posing a threat in non-violent ones. The issue is how incredibly undertrained most US cops are.
And yes, if they are not sufficiently trained, they should not carry a gun period. Not in their car, not anywhere.
Do you think all countries arm all of their regular police officers with firearms?
Most countries don’t have more guns than people in them.
Which is another argument in favor of gun control.
Obviously. I am pro gun relatively to where I live but the US gun laws are crazy. You should do something about that.