What was supposed to be a quick airport pickup turned into a gunpoint takedown for former Arizona Cardinals linebacker Wesley Leasy and his teenage daughter, according to a new lawsuit. Leasy filed a complaint on April 10, 2026, accusing Mesa and Phoenix police of falsely arresting the pair at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport one year earlier, on April 10, 2025.
The lawsuit says officers ordered Leasy and his daughter out of their white Mercedes, forced them to lie face down on the pavement, handcuffed them and held them while police hunted for a nearby homicide suspect. The encounter lasted only a few minutes, but the suit says the experience left both father and daughter traumatized, and it seeks damages and accountability from the agencies involved.
What the lawsuit says
The complaint, filed by attorney Benjamin Taylor, names the cities of Mesa and Phoenix, their police departments, the Phoenix Aviation Department and Sky Harbor as defendants. It alleges false arrest, assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence.
As reported by ABC15 Arizona, the lawsuit says officers zeroed in on Leasy after his white Mercedes matched a traffic-camera description of a car tied to a nearby shooting. Leasy and his daughter were allegedly handcuffed and held for less than five minutes before officers realized they had the wrong people.
How police say the mix-up happened
According to police, the chain of events started with a shooting near Country Club Drive and Brown Road. Investigators used traffic-camera video and a police helicopter to track a vehicle they say was described as a white Mercedes with a sunroof and temporary tags.
The helicopter then lost sight of the Mercedes near Loop 202. Minutes later, officers at Sky Harbor reportedly spotted Leasy’s white Mercedes circling Terminal 3 as he waited to pick up his daughter. From there, the takedown unfolded.
According to FOX10 Phoenix, body-camera footage and police accounts are central to both the lawsuit and the media coverage of what happened on the terminal curb.
Timeline: notice of claim to full suit
Leasy’s legal team first put the cities on notice in October 2025, filing formal notices of claim, a routine pre-suit step under Arizona law, and seeking $1 million from each city. The Mesa notice of claim was filed as a public document and can be read here.
The $1 million demand drew attention back in October 2025, and the April 2026 complaint now moves the dispute from pre-litigation posturing into full-blown court proceedings.
Police response and apology
Mesa police told reporters they do not comment on active or pending litigation. According to ABC15 Arizona, a Mesa police sergeant at the airport apologized to Leasy at the scene while explaining how officers believed his car matched the suspect vehicle.
The department later noted that officers at the homicide scene reported witnesses describing the suspected shooter as a white man. Leasy and his daughter were released once officers determined he did not match that description. His attorneys argue that even a short detention cannot justify what they describe as an extreme level of force, and they say they are pursuing accountability in court.
Legal implications
Under Arizona’s notice-of-claim statute, potential plaintiffs must submit a written claim to a public entity within 180 days of when their claim accrues. That requirement is set out in A.R.S. §12-821.01.
That procedural hurdle, along with looming questions about probable cause, qualified immunity and excessive force, is expected to shape the early legal fights and determine whether the case moves into full discovery. How the cities and the airport choose to respond, by denying the claims, negotiating or digging in for litigation, will also influence how quickly the public learns more about what happened and why.
What’s next
With the complaint now filed, the cities and the airport are expected to evaluate the allegations and prepare formal responses. The case could quietly resolve through settlement or push forward into depositions, document production and high-stakes motion practice.
Leasy has said the encounter “could have been deadly,” and his lawyers maintain the family is seeking not just money but a measure of accountability. For Phoenix residents and Sky Harbor regulars, the lawsuit will serve as a real-time test of how local agencies handle mistaken-identity stops and whether any policy changes or reviews follow in its wake.
