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Benjamin Walby

Age : 22

Gender : Male

Race : White

Date : 03/23/2024

Location : Apartment building

City : Hancock

County : Houghton

State : Michigan

Agency : Hancock Police Department; Michigan State Police

Officer(s) :Unknown

Cause of Death : Asphyxiation

Event : Killed by police after noise complaint

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 03/23/2024, police confronted Benjamin Walby, a Michigan Technological University student, due to a noise complaint at an apartment building in Hancock, Michigan. Body camera footage shows Walby running down a stairwell where officers tackled him to the ground. Officers fired stun guns multiple times while restraining him. Walby was placed face down and restrained with his hands and feet bound behind his back, a restraint method commonly referred to as hog-tying, while officers held him in a prone position for an extended period. The lawsuit alleges Walby was unarmed and experiencing a mental health crisis. During the restraint, Walby became unresponsive. He was transported to a hospital where he suffered cardiac arrest, was briefly revived, and later died on 04/04/2024.
In January 2026, Walby’s family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against multiple officers and agencies, alleging excessive force, improper use of stun guns, dangerous restraint techniques that restricted breathing, and failure by officers to intervene or provide timely medical care. The lawsuit challenges police accounts of the incident and asserts that the restraint and repeated stun gun use directly caused Walby’s death. The case remains active and is being contested.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.reddit.com/r/Michigan/comments/1qcc07y/lawsuit_death_of_college_student_caused_by_police/
https://www.uppermichiganssource.com/2026/01/13/family-suing-hancock-police-department-multiple-agencies-2024-death-mtu-student/
https://www.mlive.com/news/2026/01/family-lawsuit-police-death-michigan-tech-student.html