Chandler family suing police for ‘hunting down’ man
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A Chandler family is suing the city and several police officers for what a federal court filing calls “hunting down” a young man and falsifying reports.
A Chandler family is suing the city and several police officers for what a federal court filing calls “hunting down” a young man and falsifying reports.
Jade Waichulaitis was handcuffed April 17, 2024, charged with aggravated assault and jailed for 10 days before being released and charges dropped, a civil complaint states. He and his attorney said in the complaint that police didn’t properly look into initial information about him and used excessive means to arrest him.
“During the arrest, Chandler police failed to properly investigate the matter,” the initial Maricopa County Superior Court complaint states. “Police fabricated the need for numerous officers to stake out with the SWAT team, go into neighbor’s homes, and use weapons to apprehend Jade for defending himself on his property.”
Waichulaitis and his parents, Bruce and Sharon, are named as plaintiffs in the suit The county suit was for as-yet-unspecified compensatory and punitive damages as allowed by law, plus attorneys’ fees.
The complaint states Waichulaitis was assigned an “outrageously high bond” after it alleges Chandler Officers submitted a “false or misleading” Form IV/release questionnaire report.
“Here, despite knowing that the alleged assault occurred on Jade’s own property and that he stated he was the one attacked, a Form IV failed to state any of the self-defense claims and instead simply adopted the alleged victim’s story as a fact to present to the judge,” the complaint states.
Waichulaitis’ bond was set at $250,000, which the complaint describes as “higher than many murder suspects.” This high bond led to Waichulaitis remaining in jail fr 10 days.
The complaint also states Waichulaitis is a “130-pound, 5-foot, 8-inch young man with no discernible criminal history” prior to the April 2024 arrest.
The suit stems from a dispute between Waichulaitis and a Chandler neighbor, Michael Sloat.
The complaint alleges Sloat “started harassing Jade after he went onto Jade’s property to allegedly get his phone, got angry when Jade called him a name, and then assaulted Jade after Jade supposedly doused him with gasoline — which did not happen.”
The complaint contends Waichulaitis “did nothing more than defend himself while on his own property from a man who lost his temper because he was supposedly called a name.”
The complaint describes an incident in which Waichulaitis says he observed an then-unknown man stealing his father’s gasoline can from the Waichulaitis’ driveway. Upon confronting the unknown man and asking, ‘What are you doing?,’ the man began recording Waichulaitis with a cell phone.
In response, he complaint alleges, Waichulaitis attempted to snatch the phone from the man’s hands, at which time the man punched Waichulaitis.
During the altercation, Waichulaitis tried to retrieve the gasoline can from the man, but due to the cap being loose, gasoline spilled onto both Waichulaitis and the man.
Waichulaitis then began retreating toward his residence doorway, with the man following him, with Waichulaitis then “acting in self-defense” against the man “to protect his house.”
Waichulaitis denied using an object, such as a rock, to defend himself. He also stated he didn’t use or produce a lighter during the altercation.
“Jade had been assaulted all the way to his front door and had injuries including a black eye, swollen face, cut on his forehead and deep bruises on his back and chest,” the complaint states.
Defendants include the city of Chandler, plus Chandler Police officers Lydia Ravelo, Matthew Loper, Matthew Figley, Thiago Pereira and Ryan Stover.
The complaint states Sharon Waichulaitis told officers that Jade had told her to call the police and that he had been punched by their neighbor. She told police that the left side of Jade’s face was swollen and that it appeared that his phone had been damaged.
The complaint goes on to claim Officer Ravelo “did not provide Jade’s version of the story, falsely stating that there had been a prior assault by Jade on the alleged victim, and falsely claimed he had fled ‘the scene’ without clearly stating it was his house and he had, earlier that day, asked his mother to call police.”
Later that evening, at about 11 p.m., the complaint states, police formed teams of officers — both in front of Waichulaitis’ home and in the backyard — in order to locate and apprehend Waichulaitis.
The complaint claims Waichulaitis was never reported to have any type of weapon. Waichulaitis did briefly run from police.
“Simply put, he was scared to death,” the complaint states.
A telephonic case management conference is set for May 5.
Jason W. Brooks News Editor | Chandler Independent
Jason W. Brooks joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in July 2021 as an associate editor. After a year covering Buckeye, he has covered Chandler since the fall of 2022, in addition to assisting the Daily Independent throughout his time at INI.
Education: University of New Mexico, bachelor of arts in journalism and mass communication, print emphasis, English minor.
Random Fact: He and his siblings witnessed a Space Shuttle launch and landing in the same year in person, on opposite coasts.
Hobbies: Karaoke, bicycling and American Sign Language.
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