Arizona Man Seeks $176 Million From Sheriff’s Department After Swatting Incident Leaves Him Partially Paralyzed

A 24-year-old Arizona resident and his mother have filed notice of intent to sue the Pima County Sheriff’s Office and Sheriff Chris Nanos, seeking $176 million in damages over a law enforcement response to a fraudulent emergency call. Axeel Melendez alleges that deputies’ gunfire during the April 10 incident left him with partial paralysis, spinal cord injury, broken ribs, and a fractured leg, according to his attorney Dev Sethi.

The incident began when someone impersonating Melendez called 311, the non-emergency line, claiming his father had shot his sister and providing his address. Sethi noted the call exhibited multiple indicators of being fraudulent, including the use of an out-of-state area code and the caller’s mispronunciation of Melendez’s first name. Prior to the false report, Melendez had contacted 911 to warn authorities that he had received ransom demands from a hacker threatening a swatting incident, but was reportedly reassured such threats were not credible.

Believing an intruder was entering his home, Melendez retrieved his family’s legally owned firearm and took defensive position behind his bedroom door as deputies broke through a window. According to the claim, deputies then opened fire without establishing the actual threat level. Sethi contended that deputies ignored warnings that Melendez’s address was flagged as a potential swatting target and failed to exercise appropriate caution.

“Axeel is a vulnerable young man whose life has been upended,” Sethi said, emphasizing his client had followed proper protocol by contacting authorities when threatened. The attorney noted that deputies were trained to treat situations as genuine until proven otherwise, yet failed to de-escalate the encounter.