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Go, go, go, go, go, go. >> On August 1st, 2024, Columbus police in Ohio responded to a disturbance at a home involving 40-year-old Benjamin Wheeler. According to the caller, Wheeler was irate and threatening family members. When officers first made contact, Wheeler briefly stepped into the doorway shirtless and made a series of erratic statements. At one point, stating, "Martial law has been declared." After several minutes of conversation, he told officers he had weapons in his room, saying, "I am armed. I will defend myself." Moments later, Wheeler retreated back inside and stopped responding. With an active felony warrant to serve and growing concerns about a gunman now barricaded inside his home, the department requested its SWAT team, who arrived with a heavily armored military-grade vehicle known as the Bearcat, built to withstand gunfire from rifle rounds and breach fortified structures. Its arrival marked a turning point in the standoff. And this was only the beginning. >> The destination is on your left. arrived >> copy and on his feet >> window left the door. He was last seen one is set and waiting for Bearcat 2 and some more personnel before we start announcements. >> Good. >> Yep. >> Moving. >> Thank you, sir. >> Yep. On the left. >> You guys got a knocker gun spun up? >> Yeah. >> All right. Benjamin or anyone else inside of 818 Cherry Berry, please come to the front door with nothing in your hands so we can speak with you. >> I have a taser. >> Taser. >> Hi Doug. >> Have you guys had contact with him at all here? >> Left the door. We've seen nothing here. Do we know do we know if he has a phone? So we can get that over with quickly and we can just go ahead and go to Armageddon. >> Let's send you guys up. >> Yep. >> Stay right here. >> You can look in that window to us. You see it? >> I need you to come to this window in the front you were at earlier and talk to us or come to the front door with nothing in your hands. We'll explain everything that's going on to you. Get you necessary help that you need. If you have a warrant for your arrest, are under arrest. You cannot leave until you're safely taken into custody. >> If we have to make entry, I'll have you go straight. I'll have you turn. You'll turn here so you're not exposed. And then I'll I'll go you block here and I'll go along. >> Your mom and dad are out here and they're very worried about you. >> They're going to be pissed when we blow the windows out. >> Benjamin Adam's with your mom and dad and your mom said she needs to get back in to get some medicine, but she can't do that till you come out. >> Contact. >> Contact. >> Contact. Yep. Right here. This window. >> All right. So, just going to change of plans. When we go up, we'll go up. Two of us will go up this uh side of the Bearcat. You go up here and bunker this window. I need to go up and get that window. >> We got a long gun over there. >> Moving lock. >> What was that? That was the spear. It's locked. They were just checked to see if it was open. >> I guess we could have left the screen door open for him to breach it. >> Man, I missed that thing by >> you. I could have put a piece of paper there. Benjamin, I gave you a little break, but it's time for you to come out now. >> Reach it. Throw everything in. So, make no announcements when I go up. When we go up to throw stuff in. No. Okay. We'll let once we get back, we'll have her make the announcements. Hey, we put a put a thorough phone in >> on my call. >> I'm moving. >> Breach. Breach. >> Hey, LET ME SEE YOUR HAND. >> Leave it there. >> Come out. Come out. >> He's trying to close the door again. And I'm leaving a ram in there. >> Benjamin, come on out here. >> I'm moving. >> Moving. >> Benjamin, come on. Benjamin. >> Okay, that's perfect. >> Hey, you want to get some announcements? >> Announcements. >> Benjamin, come out right now. Show us your hands. Were your spot work in there? >> Anybody see that spotlight? >> He just went to the left. Rob >> went towards the two spot. Where you at? Rob spotlight. >> I got it. >> Got him. >> No one's here to hurt you. >> He's trying to barricade. >> That's not going to work. Ben. Ben. Ben, show us your hands and walk out, buddy. >> He is trying to push furniture back in front of the front door. We've got this. >> Slow it down, bud. >> No shirt, green ball cap. >> Come on. Oh, he's got a gun. >> He's got a gun. Back up. Back up. >> Where's he at? Where's he at? Go lower. Go lower. Go lower. Go lower. >> He's got >> What was that? What was that? >> Back up. BACK UP. >> BACK UP. BACK UP. BACK UP. >> BACK UP. COME BACK. >> SHOOT. Lead us to clean a knife. >> Deep in the kitchen again. Deep in the kitchen. >> Coming to the front door with a knife. Come to the front door with a knife. >> Drop the knife. Drop the knife. Ben. Ben. >> Ben. Ben. >> Stay to the left. Do not go. Go to the right. >> Ben, stop throwing things. Benjamin. Benjamin. >> Benjamin. >> Can we have someone stand there and chase him? >> Holy. >> Benjamin. >> Can we get knockers in that window? >> Benjamin, how about gas? >> Knockers. Let's knock the windows. >> Let's knock the windows. >> Benjamin, come to the door. >> What did he just pick? >> Got another knife in his hand. He's standing deep in the kitchen. Here he comes. >> Ben, drop the knife. Drop the knife. Let's go to this side. >> Oh my god. How are we supposed to get up there? >> Well, let's go on the inside here. Coming up with you. >> Inside. Inside. Inside. Inside. Door. >> Go. >> Watch. >> We're good. We're good. We're good. We're good. >> Yep. You get set how you want. >> All right. Go. Go lower. >> All right. You're good. >> You need to walk out of the house slowly. No one's here to hurt you. >> Three side knockers. Knockers. Knockers. >> Ben, right now he's probably so paranoid. >> Mhm. >> I can't believe he broke windshield with a knife. With a knife. Are you kidding me? >> Did you see it, Sean? >> Yeah. >> But you can feel it's that second layer. But >> I thought when it happened, >> it's supposed to take 50 cal rounds. >> You put knockers on those windows, we'll go up and throw try chambers. And we're going to uh deploy a tri chamber in there to the one side. >> Let's do it. Let's do it while you're there. >> All right. We'll check these and just go back. >> You guys ready? >> One more. >> Got two of them. >> All right. Back. >> Move. >> Get your gas mask. >> Gas deployed. Gas deployed. >> We're going to deploy knockers. Hang on. Hang on. >> I'm ready. >> Are they ready if he comes out? >> I don't think so. They're all over the place. >> Dogs ready? That's about it. >> Do we know where the guns are supposed to be? >> Yeah, they're in a closet. How about some more announcements for him to surrender? >> Hey dad, >> I got some medics out here some fresh air and some cold water. >> I need you to the front door. >> I can see what that is. >> Well, and as soon as you said lower, I lowered and that's when it came across. >> Yeah, I someone yelled gun. >> Yeah, I heard someone gun. Was that you? >> No, I I yelled. He had a pole. It looked like a gun. Yes, I yelled. >> We are outside here. Can we get a taser on him, Rob? >> Let's gas him again. He's already having trouble. Let's put two more in there. >> Yeah, good. Can you get in there? Can you get the angle? >> I got to go over your thing. Oh, that's a great toss, dude. >> Oh, he threw it back out. He threw it back out. He is hunkered down in the kitchen on the kitchen floor. >> But he threw it into his face. >> He threw it into the grenade. Just got to the front door here. Mask up. Mask up. Turn this off. >> He threw it back out. >> That's how we need to do it. We need knockers. Knocker. Knocker. Keep him down. >> Hold on. I'll throw another one. I just got to get my mask on. >> 42 to sniper. You're going to have a some personnel crossing over for a minute. Stand by the long gun. >> Hey Rob. >> Yeah. How how deep is he when he's stirring that back? >> He's all the way in the back. >> He's laying in the He's laying in the kitchen by the stove. >> We're moving up to throw another track through. We got knockers ready. >> Keep going. >> Knockers. >> Knockers. Knockers. >> Get ready for him to come out. That's a Hey, get ready. You're probably going to come out on that one. >> Benjamin, we're still here. >> We've asked you to come out peacefully. I'm going to ask you again. Just come to that door. Nothing in your hand. >> The only way this ends is with you in custody. >> He just threw something. >> Put him down with a knocker gun right here. Go >> to the back side. Got it there. All right, I'm coming over you. There you go. I got a better angle. Down your knees. Leave me out. >> You need to exit. >> But he's not coming out. >> Come to the door with nothing in your hand. >> You cannot continue to throw stuff at us. >> The gas isn't going to work. We have to let it clear out and go get him. >> Yep. >> Hey, when this clear this gas clears out, >> I can clear that out. That door >> with the ram. >> Well, as long as he doesn't throw another yankee candle at you. >> The gas is not driving. We're going to have to go in and get him. So, let's get a plan together how we're going to do. >> Let's rip that door off. Give it a couple minutes. Clear up a little bit and we go in. >> We're going to go bunker bunker bunker. >> You can close with a knife. >> And then somebody's got to be on the taser unless you're going to shoot it. >> Yeah. >> Knife, we're shooting. >> Okay. I'm just saying. >> If we got if we got distance and we got >> Can't go in there with that mindset, though. >> Let them know what we're doing so there's no miscommunication through this. and then tell him on your call, we're going to we're going to go in and get him. >> After more than two [music] hours of negotiation attempts, and with the gas finally clearing, officers knew the standoff couldn't drag on much longer. Wheeler had piled debris behind the open front door, blocking any direct entry, and SWAT [music] needed a clear path inside before committing to a final push. With visibility returning, [music] they began preparing the tools and tactics they hoped would finally bring this standoff to an end. >> We're staging ready. I'm going to just clear out some of the stuff he tried to barricade in front of the front door. to prepare for entry in the drone. >> Okay. Then if he comes out onto this porch, we're just going to let him stay out there and then entry can move up to the door and then we can deal with him just in this porch. So coming back to the door. >> I'm working on the door for you. >> All right. We can see some movement back here on the in the kitchen. Maybe it's moving towards the four side. Maybe there's off the hinges. >> I seen a middle hinge come off. I >> That might be about as clear as I can get. >> I can see to the stove. >> Just got to move that chair. >> Yep. >> Can you hook that or not? Or is that going to have a long enough thing? How's that look from out there, boys? >> Looks better. A lot better. Hey, D. >> Yeah. >> Just I need you to I need you to tell him now he needs to surrender. Anything that happens from this point on, it's going to be of his doing. >> Benjamin, this is Columbus. Police, we're outside of 818. We do have a warrant for your arrest. >> The only way this is allowed to end is you coming out peacefully, and we will serve the warrant. >> Yeah. Bearcat 1 to 40. We had no reaction from the one side when I was moving this furniture around. Okay, we thought we saw some shadows moving back in the kitchen. Do you have eyes on that? >> I have eyes straight back into the kitchen, but then the living room wall jets out about 4 ft. So, it obstructs my view over to where you guys can see that porch. >> He wants to watch. That's going to be what I'll see. All right. >> All right, bro. Bro, go get some. Front door. Front door. Just be ready to jump it back in case he starts swinging at it. >> Well, we have we have the second one coming. So, if you knock it down, >> All right, entering the front door. >> All right, look. He's doing probably to your left. Right there in that kitchen area right there. Oh, there's a lot of [ __ ] our way getting to the kitchen, guys. Okay, >> down to the bedrooms to uh >> Yeah, he's in the kitchen. There he is. >> There he is. >> In the kitchen. >> Barricaded or what? >> No, he's just in the kitchen. >> Nope. Go get pin him in the kitchen. Nope. He just hit it. >> He hit it. >> Yep, he just >> He's in the kitchen. >> All right, Barcat won. As we can tell, he's in that 34 kitchen laying on the floor. Believe he took the drone out with her. There he goes. He just went to the left to the two side. He went to the two. >> Okay, he's moving. >> Here he comes with a chair. >> He's trying to bury throwing more furniture in front of the kitchen entrance. He's more >> uh Yeah, he's right in the kitchen piling up furniture. >> Stop throwing things and come out. We have a warrant for your arrest. We need to be set up over there. >> Let's go. 5% sniper. We got to come over to this uh side to make entry. >> All right. Throwing stuff at the drone back in that towards the kitchen there. >> Let's go. >> Let's go. Let's go. Go. Go. Scissors. What's going on? Hang on. I got go go go. Go go go go go go go go go go go go go Go shot. He's dead. Yeah. >> Where's Bucker? Bucker. BUNKER. BUNKER. OH GOD. He is hit. He is hit. Benjamin, we cannot help you. Listen to me still. Tri chambers. >> Is he tactical? >> No, he's in the basement. Which >> leg? >> Is he stabbed? >> Yeah. >> Lower left leg. He's bleeding. >> He's bleeding out. >> Well, still right. >> Benjamin, can you hear me? >> Also could be lying. Wait. >> I know that. At the same time, >> Benjamin lost a lot of lost a lot of talk to your voice. Benjamin, if you are injured, I need you to come to me. >> No, I I fired. >> The other two did not. >> No, they were too busy getting stabbed. >> I mean, you think you hit him? >> Oh, 100% he's hit. There's massive blood loss. He He did have a shotgun. >> Thought it >> I don't know. All I could see was his face and some shoulder cuz he was like stabbing from behind the corner. >> Yeah. >> So, I don't know. He's probably hit like in the shoulder. >> Keep the air clear. Ready? Don't move. Don't move, Benjamin. He is down. He is He is down. He's down. Troy, I I'll cover with a bunker. I got He's down. His hands. >> His hands are right there. >> Watch his hands. Medical. Get him back in here. Set. 510 again. Hey, >> look out. Hey, don't move that. Hey, Troy, don't let him move that knife out of the way. It was right beside his body. You take a picture of that. >> Yeah. Don't Don't move yet. >> Hey, listen. We have shell casings on the stairs. >> Cannot disturb them. The suspect, Benjamin Wheeler, was pronounced dead at the scene. The standoff ultimately lasted more [music] than 6 hours and involved multiple attempts to make contact, deploy gas, and safely [music] clear the home, but it ended in a violent struggle as officers attempted to take him into custody. Multiple [music] SWAT officers were stabbed during the confrontation, but all survived their injuries. Ultimately, the standoff ended with Wheeler's death, bringing [music] the case to its final conclusion.

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