Santa Fe, New Mexico - A federal judge dismissed part of a lawsuit accusing police of violating constitutional protections in response to calls for domestic violence after fatally shooting a man.

Robert Dotson, 52, shot in Farmington in northwestern New Mexico prompted his family to sue, although prosecutors found no attorneys filed criminal charges against officials after reviewing the incident. The lawsuit says the family was deprived of its civil rights and officials acted unreasonably.

Dotson heard a knock on the door late April 5, 2023, wearing a robe, went downstairs to grab his pistol and answered. When Dotson showed up and raised his gun, the officer lifted the flashlight before three officers opened fire and killed him. Dosen did not shoot.

“Ultimately, given that Dotson pointed the gun at the officer, he posed a major threat…the immediacy of this threat, the distance between Dotson and the defendant’s officer, and considering that the incidents unfolded in just a few seconds, the court found that the defendant had reasonably imposed deadly force,” said U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Garcia. ”

The judge also said that in this case, these officials are entitled to qualified immunity - special legal protections to prevent people from prosecuting police or government workers for infringing their constitutional rights.

The opinion was published on May 15 - on the same day, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled in another case that the court should weigh the overall situation, not just in the Fourth Amendment challenge to police shootings, but not just “threat moments.”

Tom Clark, one of the Dotson family's attorneys, said the lawsuit against Farmington police would move forward under the Tort Act and other claims in the New Mexico Civil Rights Act, which limits immunity to police and other government agencies.

Defense attorneys said in court documents that the officials had taken reasonable action “in the overall situation”, noting that they repeatedly knocked on the door and announced that police had arrived, saying Dotson “posed an imminent death threat or serious harm to the police.”

Philip Stinson, a professor of criminal justice at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, said Tuesday that the court’s assessment of police immunity in the shooting “sometimes the result ends up scratching your head.”

"Here, the court said the police made a mistake - but at that moment they were facing a decision to use lethal force," he said. "In this case, I don't think that's the last sentence."

Dotson's family's lawyer stressed that the police had a wrong address and that he was likely blinded by a flashlight and there were few policemen there. They said the officer didn't give him enough time to comply with the orders because the officer shouted, "Hey, start."

According to the lawsuit, Dosen's wife was wearing only a robe and went downstairs after hearing gunshots and finding her husband lying at the door. She fired outside, not sure who was there. The police drove 19 rounds, but missed her.