Photo: Getty Images
A former NFL player is seeking justice after he and his daughter were held at gunpoint by Arizona officers who mistook him for a white teenage suspect.
According to Atlanta Black Star, Wesley Leasy, a 53-year-old Black man who played for the Arizona Cardinals in the 1990s, filed a notice of claim this week against the Mesa and Phoenix police departments, seeking $1 million in damages, taking the initial legal step before a lawsuit is filed.
“I’ve never been so afraid in my entire life,” Leasy told NBC News. “That will be with me until my time comes.”
The incident unfolded on April 10 when Leasy was picking up his 26-year-old daughter, Jade, from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. The two were reuniting at the airport, hugging and loading Jade's luggage into his car, when police swarmed them with guns drawn, shouting orders to get on the ground. Body camera video shows the pair complying immediately.
According to Mesa police, officers in a helicopter had been tracking a white Mercedes-Benz with temporary tags driven by a white male suspect, but lost sight of it. Leasy, who also drives a white Mercedes with temporary tags, became the target.
“There are a ton of white Mercedes that are around here,” Leasy said, noting he had just purchased the car “in Scottsdale, where I live, that’s not unusual.”
Leasy and his daughter were handcuffed and detained for about 20 minutes before officers realized their mistake. The suspect, 19-year-old Hayden Beever, was white and looked nothing like Leasy. Beever was arrested five days later and has since been convicted and sentenced to prison.
During the airport stop, police didn't explain why Leasy and his daughter were being detained.
“There was physical force applied in order to handcuff Mr. Leasy. He asked for an explanation... but he did not receive one until he was released," the legal claim states.
The claim describes the incident as “embarrassing and traumatizing” for both the father and daughter. A former co-worker of Jade’s who witnessed the incident tried to vouch for her on the scene, confirming she had just returned from a business trip.
“Mr. Leasy and his daughter could have been killed by Mesa and Phoenix Police,” their attorney, Benjamin Taylor, said in a statement. “The suspect was a white young male that looks nothing like Mr. Leasy or his daughter.”
“The Leasys have suffered mentally and physically by the abuse of having police rifles pointed at their head for no reason. We are seeking justice for them.”
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