PHOENIX — Former Arizona Cardinal Wesley Leasy has filed a notice of claim against the cities of Phoenix and Mesa, five months after police mistakenly held him at gunpoint, believing he was a shooting suspect.
This legal step is a required precursor to suing a public entity in Arizona. While Leasy hasn’t filed a lawsuit yet, he intends to if the cities don’t respond.
Phoenix and Mesa now have 60 days to reply, or Leasy can move forward with legal action. He’s seeking $1 million in damages.
Why did Leasy file a notice of claim against Phoenix and Mesa?
The notice and potential lawsuit stem from an April incident, when Leasy was picking up his daughter at Sky Harbor International Airport.
Mesa Police Detective Sabrina Amyx said officers were tracking a white Mercedes sedan linked to a shooting earlier that day — Leasy’s car matched the description.
Police followed Leasy to the airport and held him at gunpoint as he exited his vehicle. He and his daughter were detained, and his car was searched before they were released.
The suspect Mesa Police were looking for was a white male. Leasy is Black.
No apologies for former Arizona Cardinal, attorney says
Five months later, Leasy’s attorney Benjamin Taylor told KTAR News 92.3 FM that the former athlete hasn’t received any apologies.
“Right now, the ball is in the City of Mesa and City of Phoenix’s court to make this right,” Taylor said. “We haven’t received one apology. They haven’t reached out to us.”
Leasy hopes the notice will bring accountability to policing.
“There has to be some accountability about what happened and why,” he said. “Because the larger argument is that these officers, despite — or because of — their training, carried this out.”
Here is the document:
Former Arizona Cardinal seeks $1mil in damages from cities of Mesa, Phoenix by sosullivan
What does Wesley Leasy hope to achieve by pursuing legal action?
He believes the Mesa Police Department may need better training and a reassessment of how its resources are used.
The former Arizona Cardinal also emphasized the lasting impact on him and his daughter.
“I’m getting up from nightmares … (and) trauma,” Leasy said. “I’m having to look over my shoulder. I can’t go to the airport.”
Leasy clarified that he’s not suing out of hatred for police or a direct claim of racial bias, but to help prevent similar incidents from happening to others.
“It happened, it continues to happen — to white, to Black, it doesn’t matter,” he said. “The question is: How do we prevent it from happening again? How do we stop it?”
While Mesa police are central to the incident, Taylor said Phoenix is also named in the claim because it occurred within city limits.
Both cities have declined to comment due to pending litigation.
We want to hear from you.
Have a story idea or tip? Pass it along to the KTAR News team here.
