A former Arizona Cardinals player is seeking $1 million in damages from when he says police unlawfully detained him and his daughter at gunpoint outside Phoenix Sky Harbor airport.
Wesley Leasy was picking up his daughter from the airport in April as Mesa police were looking for a white, male shooting suspect. Leasy is Black but his car matched the suspect vehicle description.
Leasy says police followed him to the airport and held him at gunpoint as he exited his car. He and his daughter were detained and his car searched before they were released.
Leasy’s attorney, Benjamin Taylor, filed a notice of claim — a precursor to a lawsuit — on the cities of Mesa and Phoenix.
"The city of Mesa, city of Phoenix need to make it right by making sure that all this trauma therapy they're going through and the trauma therapy, could last for the rest of your life," Taylor said.
Leasy says he doesn’t want other people to be put in a similar situation
"There needs to be a bigger conversation because it’s going to happen to anybody. And if it is a question of training, if it is a question of utilization of resources or something more dark and ominous," Leasy said.
Mesa PD said they don’t comment on pending lawsuits.
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