Nathanael Benton guilty; shooting of 2 police officers in Delafield
MILWAUKEE - A Waukesha County jury found Nathanael Benton guilty on Thursday, June 9 in connection with the shooting of two police officers in Delafield in fall of 2020.
The jury found Benton guilty of the following:
- First-degree recklessly endangering safety (lesser charge, originally attempted first-degree intentional homicide)
- Attempted first-degree intentional homicide
- Possession of a firearm by a person convicted of an out-of-state felony
Case details
According to the criminal complaint against Benton, 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 woman and a man, both from Warsaw, Indiana.
Nathanael Benton
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.
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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.
Benton is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 29.