COLUMBUS, Ohio — A Mifflin Township officer suffered serious injuries after police said he was stabbed in the head with a knife Sunday night.
The incident occurred in the 2900 block of Perdue Avenue, located just north of the East Linden neighborhood, around 8 p.m.
Mark Hodge said he and a neighbor went to help what they believed was a stranded motorist jump start a car. The neighbors said the man, later identified by police as 36-year-old Bryan Benjamin, was acting erratically before officers showed up.
Hodge added that Benjamin was acting funny when he walked beside his car and he "acted like he had something hidden that he didn't want anyone to see."
“He pushed it [the car] back to Perdue Avenue and that's when the first cop showed up. I called 911 because he was acting suspicious. I thought the car might be stolen,” Hodge explained.
“The police pulled up with him. He was on this side. He pushed the car on that side of the road and the police officer sat there arguing with him, trying to get it done with him. After the police officer talked to him, that's when all hell broke loose,” Hodge said.
Records from Franklin County Municipal Court state that the officer made contact with Benjamin and attempted to detain him. Records say that Benjamin resisted arrest and stabbed the officer in the head multiple times with a homemade knife, causing serious injuries.
“I've been doing this job for more than 26 years and it was probably one of the most brutal attacks that I've seen the aftermath of. It is completely unacceptable,” said Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 9 President Jeff Simpson.
According to court records, he had a warrant out of Mansfield for resisting arrest and criminal trespassing from 2021. He has previous charged with resisting arrest and assault in Mansfield that were later dismissed. He was also charged with resisting arrest and assault in Franklin County that was also dismissed.
“He has a violent history of doing the same thing. Because the criminal justice system failed society, he gets back out and he wasn't going back, obviously,” Simpson said.
Benjamin is charged with felonious assault and is being held at the Franklin County Corrections Center. He is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday.