An Arizona man who claims a "swatting" call led to deputies' bullets leaving him partially paralyzed is now seeking $176 million from the Pima County Sheriff's Department.
Axeel Melendez, 24, and his mother, Carmen Melendez, recently filed a notice of claim against the Pima County Sheriff's Office and Sheriff Chris Nanos, signaling their intent to sue. According to Melendez's attorney, Dev Sethi, the man and his mother were swatted, prompting a massive law enforcement response at their house.
Swatting is a criminal prank where individuals place fake calls to 911 for a specific location with the goal of getting a law enforcement response to that location. "Our justice system recognizes the dignity of a human life and the importance of the completeness of your body," Sethi said. "Axeel's health, his independence, his ability to earn a living, his sense of security, that's all been stolen away from him."
The incident began on April 10 when someone impersonating Melendez initially called 311, a non-emergency number, and said his father shot his sister, giving the address for Melendez. According to Sethi, the call was made from an out-of-state area code and the caller didn't pronounce Melendez's first name correctly.
Melendez received a threatening message from a hacker who stole his personal information during an online video game and demanded a ransom to return his accounts and passwords. His attorney said the hacker also threatened to report him to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement because of his Hispanic name.
After the threat, Melendez called 911 and shared his concerns about a possible swatting incident. He was allegedly reassured there are safeguards, but deputies allegedly ignored a warning that Melendez's address was a known possible swatting target. Believing an intruder was breaking in, Melendez grabbed his family's legally owned handgun and took cover behind his bedroom door as deputies smashed through the window.
The deputies then allegedly opened fire, hitting Melendez in his right thigh and left shoulder. He suffered a spinal cord injury in addition to broken ribs and a broken leg. "He did everything we teach our kids to do," Sethi said. "When you're in danger, when somebody's threatening you, what's the first thing we tell all of our children? Call the police."
