Arizona man who begged officers for help before drowning was told ‘I'm not jumping in'
Sean Bickings, 34, who was homeless, pleaded from help from Tempe police before he drowned in a lake on May 28, according to city officials.
Just before his death, a homeless man in Arizona pleaded for help, repeating “I’m going to drown" to nearby officers, including one who said he would not jump in the lake to attempt a rescue, officials said.
Sean Bickings.City of TempeSean Bickings' death last month was a “tragedy," Tempe City Manager Andrew Ching and Police Chief Jeff Glover said in a statement the city issued Friday.Bickings, 34, drowned May 28 in Tempe Town Lake.
On Monday, the city released about 12 minutes of edited body camera video that preceded Bickings’ death near the Elmore Pedestrian Bridge. It also made public a transcript of what officials say Bickings said as he struggled in the lake, along with comments by officers who were close by.
In one part of the transcript, which the city released to supplement the video of Bickings' drowning, an officer, who was not identified, tells Bickings, “OK, I’m not jumping in after you," after Bickings had said several times that he was drowning.
Three responding officers, who have not been identified, have been placed on routine administrative paid leave, city officials said. The Arizona Department of Public Safety and the Scottsdale Police Department will “examine the Tempe Police response to the drowning,” the city said.
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