$1.5M bail set for Nathanael Benton, accused of shooting 2 officers

DELAFIELD, Wis. - Nathanael Benton, the man accused of shooting two police officers in Delafield, made his initial appearance in Waukesha County court on Monday, Nov. 9 -- and the court set bail at $1.5 million. 

Criminal charges have also been filed against Benton, 23. He was arrested after a manhunt on Friday. He is also wanted in Fargo, North Dakota for attempted murder.

Benton faces two counts of first-degree intentional homicide (use of a dangerous weapon) and one count of possession of a firearm by out-of-state felon, repeater.

"The state concludes that he is a substantial flight risk," said prosecutors in court on Monday. 

According to the criminal complaint, around 1:40 a.m. officers from the City of Delafield and Village of Hartland responded to a possible hit-and-run crash at the Holiday Inn in the City of Delafield.

While on scene, officers made contact with an individual, later identified as Nathanael Benton from Fargo, North Dakota, outside of the Holiday Inn. Benton was accompanied by a 29-year-old woman and a 30-year-old man, both from Warsaw, Indiana.

Upon officers meeting and speaking with Benton and the woman, Benton produced a handgun and fired multiple shots at two uniformed police officers, striking both of them.

According to the complaint, body cameras show one officer performing a frisk for weapons on Benton just prior to the shooting. The video shows the officer standing to the left of Benton and the second officer standing about five to ten feet away. During the pat-down, Benton suddenly makes a motion with his right arm and immediately begins firing a weapon toward both officers at close range.

One officer was struck twice in the back and once in the hip. The other officer was struck in the leg. One officer fired back at Benton as he fled on foot. 

Both officers were taken to the hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. 

A perimeter was immediately established and a search was conducted. Resources from multiple jurisdictions responded to the area, which included tactical enforcement teams who assisted in the search for Benton. 

During the investigation, information was received that Benton had an outstanding warrant through Fargo, North Dakota for attempted homicide on November 1, 2020.

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After information was publicized about Benton, a citizen called authorities, advising that he saw a man matching Benton's description. He was located near Broken Bow Court in Delafield and taken into custody without incident after a search spanning seven hours.

In addition to being wanted for attempted homicide in North Dakota, Benton was convicted in 2017 in a sex crime case.

In a statement released Friday, Benton's mother said in part: "We are very overwhelmed by all of it. We are sorry for any harm or pain he caused to anyone and are thankful no one else was hurt when they took him into custody."

Funds have been established at Waukesha State Bank under either the Delafield or Hartland "Officer Recovery Fund."