NFL Veteran Wesley Leasy Files $2M Claim Following Airport Arrest Mistake

By Tiffany Williams –

Former NFL player Wesley Leasy and his daughter are seeking $2 million after police mistakenly detained them at gunpoint at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in April. Leasy, a linebacker for the Arizona Cardinals in 1995 and 1996, filed two notices of claim last week seeking $1 million each from the cities of Mesa and Phoenix, their police departments, the Phoenix Aviation Department, and the airport.

The lawsuit says that on April 10, police pointed guns at Leasy and handcuffed him while he was picking up his 26-year-old daughter. Officers reportedly mistook Leasy’s white Mercedes for a car linked to a suspect in a nearby shooting. “Police Officers witnessed a standard/common Father and daughter reunion at the Airport and then drew their weapons, forcing them both to the ground, handcuffing both of them, and utterly refusing to take the context of the situation into account,” the claim reads. It adds that Leasy and his daughter continue to grapple with the “pain and embarrassment stemming from their public arrest/imprisonment at the Airport.”

At the time, Mesa police said the shooter was “possibly a white male, wearing a black mask and black sweats.” Leasy and his daughter are Black. The department added that officers were unaware of the discrepancy during the stop, and after confirming the pair did not match the suspect’s description, they were released. Bodycam footage cited in the lawsuit shows an officer joking, “That’s not how you want to get picked up from the airport.”

Police later arrested a 19-year-old white man for the shooting. Leasy told NBC News in April, “I’m 6’4″, 240 pounds, and I’m a nice-looking man, but I’m dark skin. And there’s never been a confusion between a Caucasian and myself.”

Leasy and his daughter have sought therapy following the incident. Their lawyer, Benjamin Taylor, said, “This has traumatized Mr. Leasy and his daughter for the rest of their lives.” Representatives for the cities and airport declined to comment on the pending litigation.