Warren police release bodycam footage after officers fatally shoot man armed with ice pick
The Warren Police Department released bodycam footage Thursday during an update after a man was shot and killed by officers earlier this week.
The incident happened at around 10:15 p.m. Monday, Warren police responded to a home in the 27000 block of Railroad Street regarding a domestic disturbance after a woman called to report that a man, 41-year-old Kenneth Beno of Warren, had been armed with a knife and later ran away from the residence.
When police arrived at the home, the woman said Beno had made threats to harm officers with a weapon.
Police ultimately found the suspect in the area of George Merrelli Drive and Lorna Avenue. As officers encountered Beno, he reportedly pulled out an ice pick and was shot by police.
The Beno was taken to an area hospital, where he later died as a result of his injuries.
In the bodycam footage, which was released to the public Thursday morning, officers are shown and hear repeatedly telling Beno to drop the knife he was carrying. At one point during the incident, Beno can be heard telling officers to shoot him.
Officers attempted to deploy a Taser, but Beno continued to approach them in what police described as a threatening manner.
In a press conference Thursday, Warren Police Commissioner Eric Hawkins said the footage shows Beno continuing to ignore warnings to drop the knife as he walked towards officers.
"The facts are fairly straightforward, and we stand by our officers in this case," Hawkins said. "This is an unfortunate use of force. We try to resolve all of our incidents that we have in a peaceful manner, but this was one of those cases where officers had no choice but to protect themselves from this person."
Hawkins said Beno had several encounters with police for mental-health related issues, including threatening suicide, and had a previous criminal history of assaulting officers and domestic violence.
The two officers involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation.
"We don't take this lightly," Hawkins said. "We understand the magnitude of what happened, and that is why we are very methodical and very diligent in how we are approaching this to make sure it is handled appropriately."
