A court hearing over mental-health competency for a man charged with murder nearly came to blows between an Oklahoma County prosecutor and a public defender. Both sides met in court on Thursday for Benjamin Plank, 37, who is accused of ambushing two Oklahoma County Sheriff’s deputies in 2022, killing Deputy Bobbie Swartz and wounding Deputy Mark Johns.

The judge abruptly ended the hearing after attorneys for both sides argued over allowing a witness to testify. The witness is a psychologist who has been treating Plank while he is in custody at the state’s mental health facility in Vinita.

The hearing did not go as anticipated for Johns and the family of fallen Deputy Swartz.

Plank attended the hearing via Zoom. He was found mentally incompetent to stand trial for murder two years ago and ordered to receive restorative treatment for “Delusional Disorder.”

Prosecutors alleged the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services failed to provide enough treatment. Court records showed Plank refused to take psychotropic medication and attend competency group classes during his first year in custody at the state facility.

The defense argued Plank has received the necessary treatment, and the Oklahoma County District Attorney should act according to state law. The law states criminal charges should be dismissed and a defendant is to be civilly committed if competency is not restored in a reasonable amount of time, in this case two years.

The state called one witness, a psychiatric doctor who treated Plank for six months at the state facility. The doctor testified Plank used marijuana while in the facility and was involved in an assault on another patient.

The hearing was continued to August 14th. The judge will make a ruling if Plank is to stay in court-ordered mental health treatment in order to stand trial for murder or be civilly committed with charges dismissed.