Three Tempe, Arizona police officers are on paid leave amid an investigation into their response to a man who threw himself into a lake and, despite repeated requests for help, drowned while officers watched. , show recently released video footage and recordings.
The episode began shortly after 5 a.m. on May 28, after officers arrived at the Tempe Arts Center in response to an unrest between a couple, according to body camera footage released Friday.
Officers, who were not identified, found Sean Bickings, 34, and his companion, who denied having a physical discussion, according to a city press release.
After speaking with the woman, whose name was not disclosed, officers approached Mr. Bickings. They asked him where he lived. An officer commented on the “tight jeans” and the AC / DC T-shirt that Mr. Bickings, show video.
Mr. Bickings, who city officials said was “homeless,” was not being detained, but officers told him they would check for pending orders, according to the city statement. “This check had not yet been completed when Bickings decided to slowly climb up a 4-foot metal fence and enter the water,” he said.
Mr. Bickings apologized to officers, showed the video, and dived into Lake Tempe Town, which is six to 19 feet deep, near Elmore Pedestrian Bridge.
Sr. BickingsCredit … City of Tempe
“You do not have permission to swim in the lake,” an agent warned, according to the video.
Images released by the city show 12 minutes of officers’ interactions, though they are later cut off due to the “sensitive nature” of the remaining images, the Tempe police department said.
A transcript published by the city takes into account the audio, although it was not immediately clear what part of the agents’ interactions it covered.
“How far do you think he’ll be able to swim?” asked an agent, according to the video.
An officer asked Mr. Bickings what was his plan. Mr. Bickings twice said he was going to drown, to which an officer replied that he was not drowning and that he should be caught on the pylon of the bridge, according to the transcript.
“I’m not chasing after you,” another officer told Mr. Bickings.
“I can’t touch it. My God. Please help me,” Mr. Bickings said. “Help me.”
Mr Bickings swam 30 to 40 meters “before repeatedly indicating he was in danger,” the city said, adding that he soon got underwater and did not return to the surface.
According to the transcript, his last audible words were, “Can you hear me?”
The woman repeatedly begged officers to save Mr. Bickings, whom she referred to as her husband, according to the transcript. Officers responded that a colleague was looking for a boat.
“I’m anxious because she’s drowning right in front of you and you won’t help me,” she said, according to the transcript. About six hours later, his body was recovered from the lake.
The city has asked the Arizona Department of Public Safety and Scottsdale police to “examine” the officers’ response to the drowning. Nikki Ripley, a spokeswoman for the city of Tempe, said it was not immediately clear how long the review could take.
He added that the Tempe police department had been in contact with Mr. Tempe’s parents. Bickings. “City manager Andrew Ching and police chief Jeff Glover believe Bickings’ death is a tragedy,” the city said in a statement.
Officers have been placed on paid non-disciplinary paid administrative leave, the city said. The Tempe Officers Association, the city’s police union, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tempe City Council will meet on Thursday to vote on its annual budget.
“This week, Tempe will try to give its police more than our public dollar, based on the lie that they are a public good,” Jamaar Williams, organizer of Black Lives Matter Phoenix Metro, said in a direct message on Twitter . “We are constantly in front and remember the disparity between what the police promise us and what they do here, it contributes to death.”
Joel Cornejo, a spokesman for Semillas Arizona, a Tempe-based human rights education and advocacy organization, said the death of Mr. Bickings was another reminder of the excess police in the city. “We don’t need more agents,” he said.