Knife-wielding man stabs Columbus SWAT team members in barricaded home is fatally shot

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0:00 - Dashcam
10:18 - Drone
13:33 - Bodycam 1
16:07 - Bodycam 2
19:25 - Bodycam 3
20:12 - Bodycam 4
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Columbus, OH - A Franklin County grand jury has decided not to bring charges against several Columbus police SWAT officers involved in the fatal shooting last August of a 40-year-old man who stabbed three other officers during a barricade situation.

The Franklin County Prosecutor's office presented the case of the fatal police shooting of Benjamin Wheeler to the grand jury, as has been standard practice for many years in officer-involved shooting cases. Jurors returned a "no bill" on June 12, meaning they declined any charges against the officers, according to Werth Public Relations, which is under contract to represent Prosecutor Shaylor Favor's office.

Brian Steel, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge No. 9, which represents most Franklin County law enforcement agencies, issued a prepared statement on June 12 thanking the grand jury for their "thoughtful consideration of the facts and law" and said that actions of the SWAT officers that day were justified.

"These officers were placed in a life-threatening situation in which three of our members were stabbed," Steel's statement reads. "Their actions were necessary, justified, and in line with their duty to protect their fellow officers and the public."

Wheeler died after being shot by SWAT officers around 9:45 p.m. on Aug. 1, 2024, inside a home on the 800 block of Cherryberry Drive after stabbing multiple officers.

At around 4:25 p.m. on Aug. 1, 2024, Wheeler's stepfather called police to report that Wheeler was "irate" and was threatening family members inside a home in the 800 block of Cherryberry Drive, The Dispatch previously reported.

After police arrive, Wheeler throughout his interaction with them makes several bizarre statements and tells officers that he possesses a gun, bodycam video shows. Wheeler then goes inside the house and refuses to come back outside.

The Columbus police SWAT team was eventually called at around 6 p.m., and negotiators tried to communicate with Wheeler until about 7:35 p.m.

A Columbus SWAT officer went toward the front door of the Cherryberry Drive home, radioing to other officers that a firearm was visible. Shortly after that radio transmission, police said Wheeler shoved a knife through the home's front door, which hit the SWAT officer in the arm.

More SWAT officers forced their way into the home while Wheeler threw furniture and other items from the kitchen, body camera footage shows. Officers used stun guns several times on Wheeler with no success, and Wheeler managed to disable a drone that officers deployed inside the home by hitting it with a Christmas wreath.

Wheeler eventually retreated into the basement, and a separate body camera shows the officers as they moved forward. They continued calling Wheeler's name and demanded that he come out of the basement and surrender. As the SWAT team looked around the house, one of the officers picked up a rifle.