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This screenshot of body camera footage shows a police officer pointing his weapon at Kenneth Beno prior to him being shot on March 10. Beno later died at the hospital.
Image provided by the Warren Police Department
This image shows the knife Kenneth Beno allegedly brandished before he was shot by police officers on March 10. Beno later died at the hospital.
Image provided by the Warren Police Department
WARREN — Officers responding to a domestic violence call on March 10 shot a 41-year-old Warren man, who died from his injuries at the hospital.
At a March 13 press conference, Kenneth Beno was identified as the man who died.
“This incident was tragic on so many levels,” Police Commissioner Eric Hawkins said at the press conference. “We had an individual who chose, for reasons that are not fully understood by us at this time, to put himself in a position where officers had to use deadly force in order to protect themselves, resulting in the loss of life.”
According to a press release from the Warren Police Department, officers were dispatched at 9:58 p.m. to a house on Railroad Street, which is off 11 Mile Road and west of Van Dyke Avenue. A recording of the woman who made the call said she believed her boyfriend had a pocketknife and was under her bed.
“He said he will pull it on your officers,” she said to the dispatcher.
When officers arrived, the woman said the man fled the scene and headed north on the nearby railroad tracks. The officers first conducted an investigation about the alleged domestic violence and then went looking for the suspect.
The shooting took place at around 10:15 p.m. in an area near the intersection of George Merrelli Drive and Lorna Avenue.
“Officers observed the male suspect to be still armed with a knife,” the release states. “Officers gave multiple commands to the male to drop the knife which were ignored. Officers deployed a taser which was ineffective on the male suspect. The male suspect still refused to drop the knife as officers approached at which time an officer-involved shooting occurred.”
The body camera footage shows Beno saying “shoot me” as officers gave him commands to get on the ground.
Following the shooting, the Warren Fire Department transported the man to the hospital where he was later declared dead. The release states that no one else was injured in the incident.
“The male has several police contacts for domestic violence incidents, disorderly conduct, and assaults on police officers,” the release states. “The male also had active warrants for his arrest at the time for domestic violence and assaults on law enforcement. The investigation includes an assessment of potential mental health factors.”
Hawkins explained that the causes of the confrontation were “complex” with mental health potentially playing a role in the situation turning deadly. For context, he mentioned a “deep dive” the department recently took. The results showed that over half of the aggravated assaults that occurred in Warren in the last two years had a “domestic violence nexus.” He said the findings showed 70% of homicides were tied to domestic violence. Last year, the department received over 1,500 calls related to someone with a mental health issue. This year, the department has responded to over 270 calls.
“We were already in the infancy stages of creating a program that would help members of this community, as well as the Police Department, deal with domestic violence,” Hawkins said.
Hawkins said this would involve collaboration with the courts, community and social service agencies.
“We’d already begun the process of developing a crisis intervention team program that would eventually train all of our officers in dealing with individuals who have mental health challenges while they’re in the line of duty,” Hawkins said.
Hawkins urged those in need to seek out available mental health resources.
According to Warren Police Department procedure, the four officers were put on administrative leave until an investigation into the shooting is finished.
“We stand by our officers in this case,” Hawkins said.
Hawkins said no officer wants to be in a situation where they have to use deadly force, especially when a life is lost. He spoke to the ripple effect the incident has for the family of Beno, the officers who used deadly force and the community.
“We don’t take this lightly. We understand the magnitude of what happened,” he said. “That is why we are very methodical and very diligent in how we are approaching this to make sure that it’s handled appropriately.”
