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Benjamin Isaac Hale

Age : 40

Gender : Male

Race : White

Date : 08/22/2025

Location : West Amelia Street and Chatham Avenue, near Luminary Green Park

City : Orlando

County : Orange

State : Florida

Agency : Orlando Police Department

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Gunshot

Event : Killed by police after charging with scissors

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 08/22/2025, at approximately 3:40 a.m., Orlando police officers responded to West Amelia Street and Chatham Avenue near Luminary Green Park for a dispute between two roommates. Benjamin Isaac Hale, 46, was not involved in the dispute that brought police to the area. Police later said Hale appeared to have been sleeping in Luminary Green Park before the encounter.
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Hale was born on 10/06/1978 in Xenia, Ohio. He attended Valencia College and earned a bachelor's degree in computing for digital media from the University of Central Florida. His family described him as an artist and musician who loved nature and animals. He had also participated in the Salvation Army's Adult Rehabilitation Program.
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Surveillance and police body-camera recordings released approximately one month after the shooting provide considerably more information than the initial police account. The recordings show Hale moving rapidly across the park toward the area where officers were speaking with the two roommates. Hale was carrying a pair of scissors.
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Police initially characterized Hale's actions as an unprovoked attack in which he “charged” at officers and made a slashing motion with the scissors. The subsequently released video produced disagreement over that characterization. Former police officer and use-of-force trainer Roy Bedard reviewed the footage for WESH and said Hale did not rush the officers at the moment police fired; he described Hale as taking approximately two or three steps toward them before the first shot.
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The recordings show officers ordering Hale to drop what they initially called a knife. Hale continued moving while holding the scissors. Both Orlando police officers then opened fire. Hale fell to the ground and died at the scene.
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Gunfire also struck property beyond Hale. Hale's father, Philip Hale, subsequently visited the shooting location and said he counted at least eight bullet holes in the lower portion of a nearby coffee shop. Initial news coverage likewise reported that police bullets struck the business.
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Hale's family publicly challenged the Orlando Police Department's account and the necessity of killing him after viewing the body-camera footage. Philip Hale said his son did not rush toward the officers as police had described and characterized the shooting as excessive force. He questioned why officers fired repeatedly rather than using a less-lethal option.
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Philip Hale also said he had heard accounts that the scissors could be heard hitting the ground before police fired. That assertion comes from Hale's father and has not been established by the official investigation. He nevertheless said the video left the family with substantial unanswered questions about the shooting and rejected the police characterization that the shooting was justified.
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Hale's father discussed his son's struggles with addiction and mental health and said Hale had participated in the Salvation Army's Adult Rehabilitation Program. He argued that those struggles made the police response particularly troubling and said his family wanted answers about why deadly force was used.
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The Florida Department of Law Enforcement opened the independent investigation into the shooting. The case was to be forwarded to the State Attorney's Office following FDLE's investigation, while Orlando police also conducted an internal administrative investigation.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND
Two Orlando Police Department officers fired at Benjamin Hale. Their names have not been publicly disclosed in the initial reporting, the September 2025 body-camera coverage, or the later family coverage located during this update.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.wesh.com/article/active-investigation-downtown-orlando/65869592
https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/orlando-downtown-active-investigation-chatham
https://www.wftv.com/news/local/police-respond-active-scene-near-downtown-orlando/D5U5RFLMHZHNBB2AU7YCIIHMHY/
https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2025/08/22/1-dead-in-downtown-orlando-incident/
https://www.wftv.com/news/local/orlando-police-body-cam-reveals-deadly-shooting-man-charging-with-scissors/HL2ZWTULBBHVZEHM4PO2ZCBUGI/
https://www.wesh.com/article/orlando-police-release-video-fatal-shooting-scissors-wielding-man/68026041
https://www.wesh.com/article/dad-reacts-orlando-police-shooting-killing-son/68083669
https://mynews13.com/fl/orlando/news/2025/09/23/opd-releases-body-cam-video-of-armed-man-fatally-shot
https://www.orlando-news.com/2025/09/23/video-orlando-police-release-body-cam-showing-deadly-shooting-of-man-wielding-scissors/
https://www.newcomerorlando.com/obituaries/benjamin-hale