Sheriff Chris Nanos, the officer spearheading the Nancy Guthrie investigation, is now facing a huge lawsuit. To the tune of nine figures.
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Axeel Melendez, a 24-year-old Tucson, Arizona resident who was shot and permanently paralyzed from the chest down by Pima County Sheriff's Department (PCSD) deputies during a fake "swatting" incident.
Swatting is a dangerous hoax crime where a person makes a fake emergency call to 911, such as reporting an active shooter, bomb threat, or hostage situation.
Chris Nanos Facing Lawsuit After 'Swatting' Incident
Now Melendez's legal team has filed a massive $176 million notice of claim against Pima County and Sheriff Chris Nanos, alleging reckless policing and dangerous incompetence.
Melendez claimed that before he was shot, he had warned the responding officers that he had been a victim of swatting previously.
According to a legal notice obtained by the New York Post, an individual pretending to be Melendez made a call to the Sheriff's department at around 6 a.m. on the morning of the incident. He told the authorities that Melendez's father had shot his sister.
When the authorities from the apartment arrived at Melendez's home, they broke into the residence by using a shovel to smash a window in. They entered with guns drawn.
Melendez claims that the family had a legally registered firearm in the home. And amid the melee, he grabbed the gun and hid behind one of the doors inside the residence. That's when officers let off seven shots and blasted him in his leg and spine.
Melendez's lawyer, Dev Sethi, also told The Post that after his client was a victim of a previous swatting attempt. A caller threatened to call in a false bomb threat at the same home. In the aftermath, Melendez says that he reached out to 911 for assistance. But they told him "not to worry."
"The dispatcher told Melendez, 'They can't just call SWAT on you. That's not how it works.' And assured him that ... 'nothing's going to happen,'" Sethi said in a statement to the outlet.
That call happened less than 48 hours before police responded to the fake call about Melendez's father shooting his sister. That call ended in him being shot and paralyzed.
