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.
Who picks up a gun when the doorbell rings?
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.
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 a gun owner and avid trap/skeet competitor in a very red State, ut it is not consider really considered ok here either. If you live 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