To Protect And Serve

Bodycam shows Arizona officers stand by while man drowns, begs for help
June 6, 2022

A man drowned to death in an Arizona lake as police officers stood by and allegedly ignored his pleas for help, according to a bodycam transcript of the interaction.

Police officers were responding to a reported disturbance between a couple near the Elmore Pedestrian Bridge in Tempe on May 28 when one of the people jumped into the lake, the local station News 12 reported.

Sean Bickings, 34, and his partner denied that any physical altercation had occurred when officers arrived just after 5 a.m.

The officers then told the couple that they were running their names to check if either had any outstanding arrest warrants when Bickings climbed over a four-foot fence towards the water and dove in, bodycam footage obtained by News 12 shows.

“I’m gonna go for a swim,” Bickings said in the video. “I’m free to go right?”

The cops told Bickings that he was not allowed to swim in the lake as they stood on the other side of the fence.