In November 2022, a dispute between neighbors in a Buffalo apartment building escalated into a fatal encounter for 57-year-old William B. 'Willie' Henley. The incident began with a confrontation between Henley and another resident, Brandon D. Hurst, regarding a prior burglary at Hurst's apartment.
The altercation turned violent inside the lobby of their apartment building on Broadway, where Hurst allegedly assaulted Henley. Later that same day, police were called to the building for an unrelated report of an attempted burglary, leading to Henley's arrest on charges of attempted burglary, gun possession, and criminal mischief. At the time of his arrest, Henley did not report any injuries to the police. The following morning, during his arraignment, he complained of dizziness.
Henley was subsequently remanded to the Erie County Holding Center. On the morning of November 27, 2022, he was found unresponsive in his cell. Despite attempts to resuscitate him by deputies, he was pronounced dead after being transported to a local hospital. An autopsy by the Erie County Medical Examiner's Office later determined that Henley's death was the result of a compression fracture to his neck caused by blunt force trauma sustained before his arrest.
Following an investigation into Henley's death, Brandon D. Hurst was indicted on charges of Attempted Assault in the First Degree and Assault in the Second Degree. The Erie County District Attorney's Office stated that the evidence indicated Henley's fatal injury occurred during the earlier altercation with Hurst. An assailant, identified as Henley's neighbor, was convicted of assault after it was reported that he had thrown Henley headfirst into a metal electrical wall panel and then struck him with steel-toed boots. Henley's family has also filed a lawsuit, alleging that he would have survived if he had received proper medical care from the Buffalo police and the staff at the holding center.
