Dover Police Street Crimes Unit Makes 1st Arrest 11-14-14

It didn’t take long at all for the new Dover Police Street Crimes Unit to make an impact when they hit the streets of Dover today.  The day began with a 7:30AM briefing to review the goals and objectives of the unit as well as the areas to cover, followed by a ten-minute photo session with the Delaware News Journal at 9:00AM.  By 9:45AM, the unit arrested Ezekiel Benson (24) of Dover.  The Street Crimes Unit observed Benson inside of the Dover Public Library and learned that he had an active capias from Superior Court for his arrest.  When officers contacted Benson, he began yelling and screaming at the officers and pulled away from officers as they attempted to take Benson into custody.  Once Benson was arrested, the officers discovered 5.1 grams of crack cocaine on his person.  Benson was brought back to the Dover Police Department where he was charged with Possession with Intent to Deliver Controlled Substance (Crack Cocaine), Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Disorderly Conduct, Resisting Arrest, and the Local Fugitive Charge for his active capias.  Officers also seized $110.00 in suspected drug profits from Benson.  Bond information for Benson was not available at the time of this release.

By 2:30PM, the unit took enforcement action for public urination in an alley and an illegal dice game.  Details of those arrests/citations were not available at the time of release.
The Dover Police Department Street Crimes Unit was formed shortly after a series of shootings in Dover, sparking the need to increase proactive enforcement by the department.  The unit is temporary and will stay together for the remainder of 2014 and be further evaluated at that time.  Chief Bernat, of the Dover Police Department, would like to see the department continue it’s proactive enforcement but stated that the department simply needs more police officers in order to make that happen.

Information Released By: Cpl. Mark Hoffman, Public Information Officer