Toledo police release footage from officer who shot armed suspect in domestic dispute

TOLEDO, Ohio — The Toledo Police Department has released more information about a Thursday night shooting in East Toledo that started with a domestic violence call and ended with an officer shooting an armed suspect.

A concerned mother called for help after her daughter's live-in boyfriend, 44-year-old Benjamin Deverna, had been acting strange, getting violent and making serious threats.

"He's being very, very aggressive, belligerent, the more he's drinking, the worse he's getting, my mom is scared for me," she was heard saying on the call. "He's been threatening for 2 1/2 weeks, like, 'What would you do if I killed you?'"

Police showed up to their home on the 2000 block of Nevada just after 9 p.m. and, after searching the house, found him in the garage holding a gun in his own mouth.

When he didn't drop the weapon and turned it toward police, 29-year-old officer Jimmie Bennett shot him once in the hip before taking him into custody.

Officer Bennett has been with TPD for over four years and has no prior discipline according to the department.

"Officer Bennett was standing in that doorway which we call the fatal funnel, he's silhouetted right there and seeing the suspect with the weapon in his mouth and then lower it down, he made that decision," Police Chief George Kral said.

When officers found the gun in the garage, it wasn't loaded, but Kral said he stands by Bennett's decision and commends the unit's multiple attempts to deescalate the situation before using deadly force.

"We do not have to be shot at or shot to return fire. We're trained that if we feel that our lives are in danger, or our partner, or an innocent third party, whether that suspect fires his weapon or not, we are justified in using deadly force."

This is the third officer involved shooting this year after a shootout at the Secor Woods Apartments on Jan. 4 and the tragic standoff on Jan. 18 when Officer Brandon Stalker was shot and killed.

"We're seeing a wave of violence through this country that I haven't seen in 30 years of policing and it just goes to show us and your viewers how dangerous this profession is turning into."

Bennett is on paid administrative leave and the incident will go before the firearms review board, which are both standard protocols any time deadly force is used.

The suspect is still in the hospital and is expected to recover.

Watch the full body camera video and 911 call below. (WARNING: Content may be disturbing for some viewers.)

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