The Dallas Police Department released bodycam footage showing a knife-wielding man charging officers before being fatally shot.
Officers fatally shot 46-year-old Martin Benes on Aug. 27 after he allegedly charged them with a knife. His brother, Paul, is now alleging misconduct by the department. The Dallas Express previously reported on the incident.
The bodycam footage shows Benes charging at officers with a knife. He had a history of violence and drug use, DPD Chief Daniel Comeaux said in a press conference. The Dallas Express also obtained court records showing Benes’ prior criminal history of criminal mischief, resisting arrest, and assault.
The Emergency
One witness called 911 around 7:35 p.m. on Aug. 26, saying Benes had been drinking, was armed with a knife, and was making threats inside the home. According to The Dallas Morning News, the caller was his mother, Judith Benes.
“He is very dangerous, he is yelling that he will kill everybody,” she told the dispatcher, according to a recording of the 911 call.
Another witness – who The Dallas Morning News identified as Paul Benes – texted 911.
“I’m concerned for my brother. He is acting very erratically. He’s trying to kill herself [sic]. My mom can’t reason with him, and she is in danger herself …” he texted.
“Dallas 9-1-1, please hold for next available calltaker or call 9-1-1,” dispatch replied.
He said his mother was unable to leave the home. He provided the address on Far Hills Lane in North Dallas near Richardson.
The first patrol officer was dispatched close to 7:40 p.m. and arrived at 7:44 p.m. Bodycam footage from Sergeant Dean Catanzaro showed officers arriving at the door.
“I just heard something in there,” he said. “Dallas police!”
Judith Benes met officers at the door and, in broken English, said “medical.” Officers brought her outside, and Catanzaro went in.
Martin Benes appeared down the hall.
“I’m done with this sh*t,” he said, approaching Catanzaro with a knife.
“Put it down, put it down,” officers yelled, drawing their pistols. “Put it down, Martin! Drop the knife!”
Officers backed into the front yard, and Benes paced across the porch. He eventually went back inside the house.
The officers moved Judith off the porch and asked if anyone else was in the house.
“No one,” she said.
The Response
Martin Benes locked the front door, and more officers arrived on scene and established a perimeter. One officer noted the suspect had blood on him but was unsure of his injury and was concerned for his well-being.
A patrol supervisor spoke with a witness, who explained that Benes had injured himself while cutting off his ankle monitor. The witness also said Benes “expressed a desire to no longer live, and to kill himself if officers entered the residence.” A Rapidly Integrated Group Healthcare Team (RIGHT), with a police officer, a “mental health clinician,” and a paramedic, was called to the scene.
Since Benes had cut off his ankle monitor, a judge issued a warrant for insufficient bond on aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Officers contacted the department’s Fugitive Unit, who verified the warrant and requested a SWAT team, which arrived soon after 11 p.m.
SWAT officers used various tactics to try to persuade Benes to leave the building. Comeaux said in the press conference that officers tried calling him out, having his mother call him, and reaching him on his cell phone. They also deployed gas and sent a robot inside.
“When it’s a violent suspect like that, it’s only so much that they can do,” Comeaux said.
These efforts were ultimately unsuccessful, so they decided to go in.
An Arrest Turns Fatal
SWAT officers breached the door of the home around 1:24 a.m. to search for Benes and take him into custody.
Bodycam footage from Senior Corporal Christopher Nilsen shows the SWAT team entering the home, weapons drawn. They proceeded up the stairs. The officers slowly walked down the upstairs hallway, approaching a bedroom. They entered and found Benes under a sheet in bed.
“He’s got a knife,” one of the officers whispered.
They aimed a Taser at him and fired. Benes yelled and turned over, throwing off the sheet and revealing the knife in his right hand.
He got up and chased the officers into the hallway with the knife. At this point, the department blurred the bodycam footage, but gunshots rang out and Benes fell to the ground.
Nilsen and Senior Corporal Samuell McDonnold shot Benes. After falling, the suspect tried to stand and continue approaching them, but officers shot again, striking him once more. A SWAT medic responded, assessed his injuries, and attempted to stimulate his breathing.
Ultimately, Benes died at the scene at 1:31 a.m. on August 27, according to the Dallas County Medical Examiner. His manner of death was not yet listed at the time of publication.
The Fallout
Benes’ brother Paul claimed in The Dallas Morning News that the department edited the 911 call to exclude his mother’s requests for medical help, rather than police. He claims these requests were ignored and that police used force to kill “a sleeping man.”
Nilsen has been a member of the department since 2008, and McDonnold has served since 1997, Comeaux said in the press conference.
While Benes was allegedly drinking at the time of the initial 911 call, he also had a “past history of utilizing drugs,” according to the chief.
“He had a violent history,” Comeaux said. “In one of the arrests, he tried to run over a neighbor with a vehicle, and then he resisted arrest from the officers when he was tased before.”
Benes used a motor vehicle to “damage and destroy” a victim’s porch on February 23, 2025, according to court records obtained by The Dallas Express. He allegedly damaged an entire porch, four posts, one window, and eight shutters, leading to a charge of criminal mischief causing loss greater than $2,500 but less than $30,000.
He allegedly used force against an arresting officer the same day, according to another court record obtained by The Dallas Express. He was charged with resisting arrest and aggravated assault in connection with that incident.
The Dallas police Special Investigations Unit is investigating Benes’ death. The Office of Community Police Oversight was briefed, and the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office is conducting its own investigation.