WARREN, Mich. (WXYZ) — The Warren Police Department released new video on Thursday of an officer-involved shooting earlier this week that left a 41-year-old man dead.
According to the police department, they were called to a home around 10 p.m. Monday on a report of domestic violence. The female victim told police that the suspect was armed with a knife and hiding under a bed.
Police arrived at the scene to investigate, and the suspect, later identified as Kenneth Beno, had already fled the scene.
Officers encountered Beno on railroad tracks near the home, and body-cam video shows them telling Beno to drop the knife and get on the ground.
The body-cam video can be seen below (Caution: There is strong language and graphic content. Viewer discretion is advised)
Eventually, they used a taser on Beno, but it didn't work, and Beno continued to approach the officers, who then fired 6 shots. 4 of them struck Beno.
Police said officers placed Beno into cuffs, which is standard procedure, before searching him. They began to render aid and called the fire department, who transported him to a hospital where he later died.
They said Beno had several warrants, including for assaulting police and domestic violence, and they had had previous contact with him in the past for incidents and mental health-related calls, including suicide.
WATCH: Hear from the police commissioner in the video below
The female victim who called 911 identified herself as an ex-girlfriend of Beno's.
“I believe my ex-boyfriend is armed with a knife; he's up under my bed,” said the woman on the call.
7 News Detroit met with the woman, Lana Price, who agreed to go on camera to share her story.
“Monday night he got aggressive, and he's got mental illness,” said Price. "He was a good person until he started having issues, mental illness issues."
Price says she dated 41-year-old Beno, who was bipolar and schizophrenic, for 3 years. He had a record of domestic violence, and that night, her 14-year-old daughter was home, too.
“He kinda got angry and went off his rocker,” said Price.
Warren police say Beno had previous convictions and warrants for domestic violence, along with a warrant for assaulting police. Neighbors reported seeing it firsthand.
“‘I've seen him fight with cops before. Spit at them. Yeah, he cut himself up one time. He just did crazy stuff,” said a neighbor, Mary Wallace. "If he was on his medication, he was a nice guy, but when he was off his meds, he wasn’t right.”
Price warned police on the 911 call that Beno would use the knife on officers. He ran off before they arrived.
Warren Police Commissioner Eric Hawkins says Beno got within 12 feet of the 4 officers when shots were fired. Those officers are on administrative leave pending an investigation, which is being done internally and not by an outside agency.
“We try to resolve all our incidents we have in a peaceful manner, but this is one of those cases where our officers had no choice,” said Hawkins. “The facts are fairly straightforward, and we stand by our officers in this case.”
While neither Price nor any officers were injured, she’s still grappling with what happened.
"I was shocked that he was deceased and no longer here with me, and I'm really going to miss him because he was a really good person,” said Price. "I wish my condolences to his family because it's really hard on me right now trying to wrap my mind around it.”
