Cop to Drowning Man 'I'm Not Jumping In' 3 officers in Tempe, AZ on leave after they watch man drown

[Demovictory9]

Cop to Drowning Man: 'I'm Not Jumping In'
Three officers in Tempe, Arizona, on leave after they watched a man drown

Three officers in Tempe, Arizona, have been placed on administrative leave after a transcript of their body cam video revealed a chilling scene: They ignored the pleas of a drowning man as he died on May 28, reports Fox10. "I'm going to drown. I’m going to drown," 34-year-old Sean Bickings tells the officers after he entered Tempe Town Lake and began to struggle. "OK, I’m not jumping in after you," an officer tells him from a bridge. The officers instead directed Bickings to swim to a pylon and hang on. At various times, Bickings is heard saying, "I can't, I can't," and, "Please help me. Please, please, please." Bickings eventually went under, and his body was later recovered.

The incident began when officers responded to some kind of disturbance between Bickings and a woman who identified herself as his partner near the reservoir, per the Washington Post. The woman told officers that Bickings had not physically harmed her, and officers were speaking with the pair and running background checks when Bickings climbed a railing and entered the lake despite officers telling him not to do so. He began swimming freestyle, but started to struggle after about 30 yards, per a city release. The release describes Bickings as "unsheltered," or homeless.

The city released body cam footage of the initial encounter; while it shows Bickings entering the water, it does not show his drowning. However, the city released a transcript of that unshown portion of the video. At one point, Bickings' partner also pleads with the officers. "I'm just distraught because he’s drowning right in front of you and you won’t help," she says. When an officer tells her that an officer is getting a boat, she responds, "No, no, no, swim."

[secondwind]

2. This is shocking beyond belief!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Omg, that poor man.... they belong in jail, and throw away the key!

[walkingman]

6. Not a surprise to me - if it weren't for body cams and phone videos we would never

know about the real world of the "boys in blue"

[Frasier Balzov]

3. I'm not clear on why Bickings jumped in the water?

This looks like Darwin's fault to me.

[gldstwmn]

5. Maybe that's what they were debating while they let the guy sink.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

13. Because the cops said they were going to run his name after they determined there had been no

altercation. tl;dr: They were called to help, and made trouble, and a man is dead because of it.

[RKP5637]

4. Figures, sounds like typical cop crap. If you need help, call a cop last because they

are life threatening to everyone and most don't give a shit about you.

[Ziggysmom]

7. WTF? Why do we pay these idiots "To protect and serve" ??

https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/valley/video-shows-what-happened-after-man-jumped-into-tempe-town-lake-to-avoid-tempe-police/75-a9eb318c-ca41-4944-b4bf-d4383bb5fe70

[WhiskeyGrinder]

14. We pay them to create the illusion of safety by oppressing the marginalized and protecting capital.

[Dave says]

15. Yes, you nailed it

[EX500rider]

8. If they weren't strong swimmers with some training jumping in could have drowned them too

Drowning people are hard to save without lifeguard training, they can drag down the other person.

[BlackSkimmer]

10. No kidding.

I worked as a lifeguard in my late teens and early twenties.

No one should jump in to try and save a drowning person without training. They should have at least tried to threw him something he could hang onto though.

He jumped in on his own. Very stupid if he did't know how to swim.

[NickB79]

9. Police have no legal obligation to save individuals

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_v._District_of_Columbia

Remember, to serve and protect is for the community at large, not you or me personally.

[msongs]

11. perhaps there is more to this than meets the eyes and ears nt

[ripcord]

12. It is not advisable for anyone without lifeguard training to enter the water for a rescue

Ropes, buoys, poles or anything similar should be used instead.

[Zeitghost]

16. Making a water rescue

Is extremely dangerous, especially if you are not properly trained. I spent my teens and early 20's lifeguarding and teaching lifesaving and I've put myself in danger to make a rescue (not on the job) in moving water when i was young and invincible (it was extremely risky and foolish and against every lesson I had been taught about attempting an unassisted rescue). I am extremely comfortable in the water still but I would not attempt the rescue of an adult, especially one I did not know who was acting oddly. It's a good way to get multiple people drowned.