Former Cardinals player wrongfully detained to file lawsuit

Wesley Leasy files lawsuit after being held at gunpoint, wrongfully detained at Sky Harbor

Wesley Leasy, a former Cardinals linebacker is filing a lawsuit after he was wrongfully detained and held at gunpoint at Sky Harbor Airport six months ago, after police believed him to be a murder suspect. FOX 10's Kenzie Beach reports.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Former Arizona Cardinals linebacker Wesley Leasy has filed a notice of claim against both the Mesa and Phoenix Police Departments.

What they're saying:

"There's not a day that passes that I don't think me and my daughter could have been dead on that ground that day."

Six months later, Wesley Leasy and his daughter Jade are forever changed by what police called mistaken identity.

"You know, I have dreams waking up that you're dead there on the ground, blood spilling on the ground," the former Cardinals linebacker said. "And so you're waking up panicked, you know, sort of feeling yourself to see if you are okay."

The backstory:

In April, Leasy and his daughter were mistakenly ordered to the ground and held at gunpoint by police. 

The former football player and Scottsdale resident was being a dad, picking his daughter up from the airport. 

Leasy recalled the moment his life flashed before his eyes, listening to his daughter’s cries for help. It’s a moment that still haunts him, knowing the outcome could have been very different that day and there was nothing he could do to protect his daughter.

Body camera video showed the father and daughter on the ground, surrounded by nearly a dozen officers, all with their guns drawn and lasers pointed at the Leasy's. 

"I give her a hug and she's telling me about her day. And so I pop the trunk, go to put our bags in the car," Leasy recalled.

That's when everything changed.

Dig deeper:

"Can imagine you're laying down on the ground with your daughter right beside you, thinking that somebody is going to die," Leasy said. "Somebody makes a wrong move and your daughter is crying. She's my only daughter that I do have. So this is flashing through my mind, like in a second. It can all just be over."

The notice of claim shows a photo provided by Mesa PD of the suspect: a white male with tattoos covering his face. But instead they detained a father with no criminal record. At the time, police said they mistook him for a suspect in a murder who they said was driving a similar vehicle.

"And it wasn't a case of mistaken identity. This is a case of common sense," said attorney Benjamin Taylor. "They’re trying to sweep it under the rug. And that's why you have to bring a notice of claim to make sure that this is not swept under the rug. Make sure the public in the world understands that these things happen every day to totally innocent people."

What's next:

Fox 10 reached out to both Mesa and Phoenix Police Departments. Mesa PD said they are unable to discuss any pending lawsuits.