Dallas police: officers fatally shoot man armed with knife after SWAT breach at Fair Hills Lane home

Deputy Chief William Griffith of the Dallas Police Criminal Investigations Group said officers fatally shot a man who was armed with a knife at a home in the 13800 block of Fair Hills Lane. Griffith identified the man as 46-year-old Martin Benes and said officers attempted nonlethal measures, including tasers, before firing their duty weapons after the subject charged at them.

Griffith told reporters that a 911 call about the incident came at about 7:35 p.m. and that patrol officers were dispatched shortly afterward. He said officers met a witness at the door, and that the subject emerged from a bedroom toward officers and the witness while brandishing a knife. "They gave loud verbal commands to drop the knife," Griffith said; the subject retreated inside and locked the door, according to the briefing.

The witness told officers the subject had cut off an ankle monitor and had expressed a desire to die and to harm himself if officers entered the home. A "riot care" unit that included a mental health clinician and a paramedic was called to the scene, Griffith said, and police obtained a warrant for insufficient bond related to an aggravated-assault-with-a-deadly-weapon charge. Patrol contacted the fugitive unit and requested SWAT, who arrived "just after 11 p.m.," Griffith said.

At about 1:24 a.m., Griffith said, SWAT breached the home and found Benes lying on a bed in a bedroom; officers observed that he still held a knife. Griffith said tasers were deployed and were ineffective. "Officer Samuel McDonald and Christopher Nielsen fired their duty weapons at Mr. Benes, hitting him," Griffith said. He added that Benes attempted to stand and approach officers again and was struck by subsequent gunfire. A SWAT medic entered and rendered aid; Griffith said Benes died at the scene. No officers were reported injured.

Griffith said the Dallas Police Special Investigations Unit is conducting the department's investigation; the Dallas County District Attorney's Office was notified and will conduct its own review. The Office of Community Police Oversight was also notified. To be transparent, the department said it will release 911 audio, text-to-911 messages and body-worn camera footage.

Recorded 911 audio included in the police release captures a caller who identified herself as Donna saying the subject "is yelling that he will kill everybody" and that the situation was "very dangerous." The audio also contains repeated officer commands to "drop the knife" and to have bystanders exit the residence.

There is a discrepancy in dates in the briefing record: Griffith first referred to the incident as occurring on Aug. 27, 2025, while he later described the initial 911 call as occurring "at about 7:35 p.m. on Aug. 26, 2025." Investigators have not provided a public clarification of that timing as of the briefing.

The department said the investigation is ongoing and that additional footage and records will be released. The Dallas County District Attorney's Office will undertake a separate review, as is standard in officer-involved shootings in the jurisdiction.