The Benes family dialed 911 in a moment of profound desperation, their only hope to save a son spiraling in a mental health crisis. Hours later, their home on Far Hills Lane was a crime scene, and 46-year-old Martin Benes was dead on his bedroom floor, killed by Dallas SWAT officers in a hail of gunfire.
This is the story of a tragic disconnect between a plea for help and a lethal response, a incident that has left a family shattered and questioning the very systems designed to protect them.
The crisis began on Tuesday evening. Martin, a business lawyer and father of two, was struggling with severe alcoholism and depression. His mental state had deteriorated, exacerbated by the confinement of an ankle monitor he was required to wear after a previous arrest. That night, in a distressed attempt to remove the monitor, he cut himself.
Seeing her son injured and in anguish, his mother, Judith Benes, made the fateful call to 911 at approximately 7:45 p.m. She explicitly requested a crisis intervention team and an ambulance—a call for medical and mental health assistance, not an armed confrontation.
According to Dallas Police, the situation escalated when Martin allegedly charged at the initial responding officers with a knife, forcing them to retreat with his mother to safety outside. Martin then barricaded himself inside the home, transforming a mental health call into a police standoff.
The street filled with squad cars, and eventually, a SWAT team was summoned. For hours, the scene was tense but static. The family says Martin had retreated upstairs to his room. Police say negotiations were attempted.
The end came early Wednesday morning. As SWAT officers entered the home, they stated they first attempted to use “less-than-lethal” force, deploying a Taser. When those probes proved “ineffective,” they say Martin charged at them with the knife. In that moment, the decision was made to use deadly force.
Martin Benes was pronounced dead at the scene at approximately 1:30 a.m., his family hearing the fatal gunshots from outside but unaware their son and brother was already gone.
“We thought 911 would help us with him,” said a grieving Paul Benes, Martin’s brother. “Instead of getting help from the 911 operator, they came and killed him,” echoed his father, Frank Benes.
The family is now left with a home that serves as a grim memorial. The front door is broken and unusable. A chemical smell from police agents lingers in the air, irritating eyes and lungs. And upstairs, a large, dark stain seeps into the carpet—a silent, brutal testament to the violent end of a man they loved, a man they only wanted to get help.
Who was Martin Benes? To his family, he was a funny man who helped around the house, a professional who had stumbled. He was battling addiction and had recent encounters with the law, including charges for hit-and-run and aggravated assault against a family member—incidents his family believes were symptoms of his profound struggle.
The Dallas Police Department has confirmed this was the sixth officer-involved shooting this year. Their Special Investigations Unit and the Dallas County District Attorney’s office are conducting parallel investigations, with a news conference promised for Friday.
But for the Benes family, the investigations offer little solace. Their call for a crisis team ended with a SWAT team. Their cry for a medic ended with a medical examiner. Their hope for healing ended in a puddle of blood on the second floor.