A North Dakota man is on trial this week, accused of shooting two officers in Delafield in 2020
A North Dakota man is on trial this week, facing two counts of attempted murder stemming from a November 2020 incident in which two police officers were shot in Delafield.
Nathanael Benton, 25, is also facing an additional felony charge of possession of firearm by an out-of-state felon. Benton was in court Tuesday as officers who responded to the scene, including one of the the two who were shot, testified.
Delafield Officer Doug Burke said he and the three other officers were responding to a 911 call about a hit-and-run involving a pickup truck and a sign on Golf Road early Nov. 6, 2020. Officers responded at about 1:38 a.m. to the Holiday Inn in Delafield, where they reportedly confronted Benton, a female and another male as part of the investigation.
While Burke went to check a nearby area, two officers stayed with the subjects, and shots were fired. Burke returned to the Holiday Inn to find Delafield Police Officer Michael Henning shot in the leg, and later found Hartland Police Officer Matthew Seeger, who had been shot three times. Two of those shots hit his vest and one went through his hip.
Burke tended to the wounded officers while a manhunt began for Benton, who had fled on foot. Officers from across Waukesha, Washington and Milwaukee counties, as well as the Wisconsin State Patrol, helped in the search. He was captured several hours later, less than a mile from the scene of the shooting.
Seeger was also on the stand Tuesday morning.
He recalled staying with Henning to interview the three suspects. Seeger said he saw Benton pull a gun from his waistband and fire. While drawing his gun, Seeger said, he was shot.
Burke found him minutes later and tended to him. Seeger briefly blacked out before coming to about a minute later, according to body cam footage shown to the jury.
Seeger said the wound to his hip has required four surgeries, left 11 scars, put him into a coma for two days and has left him in constant pain.
Because of the injuries, he is unable to serve with the police department anymore, he told the jury.
Benton also faces a separate felony charge for an incident at the Waukesha County Jail, where he is accused of attacking a fellow inmate, according to court records. He was charged in connection with that incident on Dec. 29, 2021, accused of stabbing the man in his cell. He has been charged with attempted first-degree intentional homicide, throwing bodily substances, battery by prisoners, all felonies, and disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor. He is scheduled to go to trial on those charges in July.
Benton is also a registered sex offender and has been sought in connection with an attempted murder in North Dakota.
Drew Dawson can be reached at ddawson@jrn.com or 262-289-1324.
Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.
DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get the latest news, sports and more
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: North Dakota man on trial for 2020 officer shootings in Delafield
