Sean Bickings, a homeless man of 43 years old, drowned in a lake as Arizona policemen stood by and disregarded his screams for aid. Officers were called to a disagreement between a pair at the Elmore Pedestrian Bridge in Tempe on Saturday, May 28th, according to bodycam footage.
When authorities notified Bickings and his wife that they were verifying to see whether either of them had any outstanding arrest warrants, Bickings leaped over a four-foot fence and declared, “I’m going to go swimming. Is it correct that I am free to leave?” prior to diving into the lake While Bickings continues to swim, a cop can be heard asking, “How far do you think he’ll be able to swim?”
Tempe police did not share the video of the drowning because it was too traumatic, rather providing a transcript of the tape. “I’m drowning,” Bickings is believed to have remarked that he is drowning. An officer said to come back over to the pylon. According to the transcript, the man stated he can’t. A cop responded that he was not going after him. Bickings allegedly shouted to please assist him as he can’t touch.
Bickings’ wife told police that she is really upset since he’s drowning there in front of them and they did not go to intervene. If she didn’t calm down, one of the policemen threatened to put her in his police car. According to reports, one officer tried to fetch a boat to save Bickings, but it was too late. He disappeared beneath the surface of the ocean and never returned.
Bicking’s body was recovered from the water about six hours later. The three cops who went to the call and saw the drowning have been placed on paid administrative leave. “The cops have no cause to be there at that point. In actuality, police did not have the right to hold him “Andy Anderson, a former Phoenix Police Assistant Chief, remarked.
According to the official statement, officers came and spoke with Bickings and his partner, who cooperated well and refused any violent altercation. None was being held for any crime. That check hadn’t been finished when Bickings chose to carefully climb over a 4-foot metal barrier and into the river. Officers warned him that swimming on the lake is prohibited. He swam around 30-40 yards before signalling that he was in difficulty. He quickly submerged and did not emerge.
New evidence shows man pleading officers for help before drowning3 Tempe, Arizona police officers are on paid leave pending outside investigations after they watched a man jump into a lake and drown. “I’m not jumping in after you,” one of the officers says in the transcript of body camera footage. Maggie Vespa NBC has more.
Posted by Top Story with Tom Llamas on Monday, 6 June 2022
He continued that this is not a lake patrol unit with water rescue equipment; these are street officers. It’s upsetting, and it’s a horrible scenario, in his opinion. It’s dreadful. Tempe Police started looking for the individual, and his corpse was discovered in the lake at 11:20 a.m., according to police. Scottsdale police and the department of public safety are examining the event and the actions and inactions of police personnel.
