Family of man wrongfully killed by Glendale police files lawsuit

PHOENIX — The family of Dillon Siebeck, who was wrongfully shot and killed by a Glendale police officer in January 2025, has filed a civil lawsuit against the city of Glendale.

The suit primarily alleges that Siebeck was not given any medical treatment for more than 15 minutes after being shot four times on Jan. 8, 2025.

Glendale police had been responding to a report of a 23-year-old man who was accused of threatening and pointing a gun at his ex-girlfriend near 47th and Glendale avenues. Instead, they mistook 46-year-old Siebeck for the man and, after he didn’t comply with their orders, an officer fired “at least one round” and Siebeck died later from his injuries.

The Peoria Police Department, which was also involved in the investigation, later found the suspect, Angelo Diaz, dead in his vehicle with a “self-inflicted gunshot wound” and said there was no known connection between Siebeck and Diaz.

The lawsuit targets Glendale officer Juan Gonzales and Sgt. Joshua Anderkin as well as the city.

The suit suggests that Siebeck looked nothing like Diaz and due to “14 seconds of no instruction” from officers during the confrontation, Siebeck “could not possibly have been refusing to comply with a police command at the time Officer Gonzalez shot him.”

The suit filed by law firm Romanucci & Blandin LLC goes on to argue that Anderkin ordered officers on the scene of the shooting to “hold” and not check on Siebeck “until the K9 unit arrived.”

“The city has knowingly failed to train its officers adequately on the appropriate use of lethal force and proper assessments of the risk posed by members of the public,” the lawsuit stated.

Gonzales was fired by the Glendale Police Department after the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office did not press charges in light of the suit, according to ABC15.

Glendale officials told ABC15 that it would not provide any comment on “active litigation.”

Why did Glendale police fatally shoot wrong man?

Police responded to a domestic violence call in the area of 47th and Glendale avenues around 7 p.m. and were given a description of the ex-boyfriend by the victim.

Officers were told the suspect was possibly at nearby Horizon Park, about 1.7 miles north of the original response site.

Police located the suspect’s vehicle along the north side of the park. Due to the tint, officers could not see if anybody was inside, according to police.

Officers noticed Siebeck in a nearby gazebo, and believing he was the suspect, told the man to raise his hands.

Siebeck didn’t comply and made a movement toward his waistband, police said. An officer then fired “at least one round” at the man, hitting him, according to police.

Siebeck, who didn’t have a weapon on him, was pronounced dead at the scene.

After the shooting, officers went back to the truck and found the suspect, the ex-boyfriend, lying down in the driver’s seat with a gunshot wound to his head.

The suspect was taken to a hospital and died there.

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