3 hours ago
Police cams show how they dealt with the Pekings before the sinking.
Authorities in Arizona have ordered three police officers to take a leave of absence following they failed to save a homeless man from drowning.
Photographs and messages released show the man, 34-year-old Sean Pickings, entering Lake Tempe Town last month and warning police that he will “sink”.
But none of the police on the scene intervened to save him, and one of them was heard saying, “I won’t jump for you.”
Soon, Pickings slipped under the water and was later pronounced dead.
The city authorities described him as a “homeless person living in Tempe”, and described his death as a “tragedy”.
The incident occurred just following 5:00 a.m. local time on May 28, when officers answered a call regarding an alleged fight between the man and his partner in downtown.
The city’s statement says that the two “fully cooperated, and denied any physical altercation.”
But photos taken by the police showed that while officers were checking the couple’s names for any pending warrants, Pickings climbed the iron fence separating the passage from the lake and entered the water.
He told the police officers that he was going “to swim”, and he actually started swimming and headed towards the bridge even following they told him it was forbidden to swim in the lake.
The officer’s 12-minute video clip ends around this time, with a message appearing at the end stating that it was cut “due to the sensitive nature of the remainder of the recording.”
But the city authorities provided a copy of the rest of the recording, which showed that Pickings had repeatedly said that he was regarding to drown and needed someone to save him.
The investigative note also showed that police tried to calm Pickings’ companion, who became increasingly distraught, and told her they were looking for a boat.
She once shouted at them, “He’s drowning right in front of you, and you don’t help him.”
Pickings did not reappear above the surface of the water.
The authorities did not reveal the names of the three policemen involved in the incident.
She said they are on “non-disciplinary administrative leave with pay,” during which the Arizona Department of Public Safety and the nearby Scottsdale Police Department will review and scrutinize their response.
