Arizona officers’ inaction during drowning spurs probe
FILE – The slow process of refilling Tempe Town Lake takes place after a new dam was built to replace the previously damaged dam, on April 12, 2016, in Tempe, Ariz. The Phoenix suburb is reviewing how to handle water rescues as video of three police officers appearing to do nothing as a homeless man drowns continues to draw outcry. The Tempe Police Department says the three officers are on administrative paid leave after last month’s drowning in the man-made city lake. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)
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PHOENIX (AP) — A Phoenix suburb is reviewing how it handles water rescues, in response to public outcry over a video showing three police officers declining to help as a homeless man drowns.
The Tempe Police Department says the officers are on paid administrative leave after last month’s drowning in a city lake.
An uproar arose Friday after Tempe police released edited footage from officers’ body cameras as well as a transcript of the May 28 incident.
The video shows Sean Bickings, 34, climb over a 4-foot fence along Tempe Town Lake. An officer tells him swimming is not permitted. Bickings then goes into the water and starts swimming. Another officer tells police to watch him while he goes to get a boat.
The video ends there. But the transcript shows two officers repeatedly tell Bickings to swim to a pylon and “hold on.” Bickings continuously says “I can’t” and pleads for help.
At one point, one of the officers says: “I’m not jumping in after you.”
Bickings swam roughly 40 yards under a pedestrian bridge, city officials said.
The Tempe Officers Association said the public needs to understand officers are not trained for water rescues. Instead, the officers followed their training and went to get a boat.
In a news release Monday, the city said officials will reevaluate the protocols around water rescues. They will also look at where rescue equipment such as life preservers should be placed relative to the lake or any body of water.
Police were originally responding to reports of a fight just after 5 a.m. between Bickings and a female companion. When questioned, both denied any physical altercation had taken place. But officers ran their names through a background check and found Bickings had three outstanding warrants.
Authorities say that is when Bickings climbed over the fence. According to the transcript, his companion, who said Bickings was her husband, tried to go after him but officers kept her back.
Firefighters recovered Bickings’ body and pronounced him dead.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety and police in the neighboring suburb of Scottsdale are investigating the police response.
Police Chief Jeff Glover met with Bickings’ mother last week. She had asked for any video to be released, the city said.
Tempe Town Lake is more than 2 miles long and was built in 1999 by damming a portion of the Salt River. It is a popular spot for jogging, biking, kayaking and other recreational activities.
