Cops watch man drown

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Admist the mass shootings, the issue of cops not doing their civic duty to save citizens is coming under the spotlight,

A man drowned in a lake in the US state of Arizona 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 New York Post reported.
https://nypost.com/2022/06/06/arizona-c ... p-bodycam/
The victim, identified as 34-year-old Sean Bickings, drowned in Tempe town lake while three unnamed Tempe police officers stood by and watched, one telling Bickings “I’m not jumping in after you,”
Shortly after, according to a transcript of the body-camera footage that was released, Bickings began to tell officers that he was drowning.

“I’m going to drown. I’m going to drown,” Bickings said.

“No, you’re not,” replied one of the officers.

When Bickings told officers for a second time that he was drowning and was not able to swim back to the bridge’s pylon, a different officer replied: “OK, I’m not jumping in after you.”
All three officers have been placed on non-disciplinary paid administrative leave, which is “customary” in cases involving officer interactions involving deaths, the published statement said.

An investigation into the officers’ response to Bickings’ drowning is being led by the Tempe department of public safety and Scottsdale police department.

Yep. I saw the video.

If the cops themselves weren't able to swim, they should have called in "special services," or the Rescue Squad.

That is weird;

And,

Apparently there was nothing to throw:

"
The Tempe Officers Association, the city's police union, said in a statement that city police officers aren't trained or equipped for water rescues and could drown together with the victim, according to Today. Instead, officers are trained to call the Fire Department or get a police boat, which the officers did, the statement said, per the outlet.

Attempting a water rescue without prior training can be dangerous for the would-be rescuer, and organizations that teach water safety often emphasize the phrase "Throw, Don't Go." According to the Red Cross, the "one thing you do not want to do" when helping a drowning person is to "jump in the water to help."
"
and,

"
The outlet reported that Jensen and some of Bickings' friends wish to continue his legacy of aiding the homeless, starting with a call for new safety measures at the lake where he died.

"There can be many things to be done, there looks like a great wall for some life preservers, maybe some buoys out there that could have been assisted," said Jensen, per AZ Family.
"

Sources:

https://www.insider.com/tempe-cops-who- ... ion-2022-6

and

https://www.insider.com/man-drowned-pol ... ess-2022-6

I saw it on the news. He drowned pretty quick and the cops were not equipped to save him in water.

It's dangerous to attempt to save a drowning person without a floatation device, even if you swim well the drowning person can drown you with them. That's common knowledge.

I understand it was probably too quick for specialists to have done anything.

I feel they should have called for specialized backup as soon as the guy hit the water. For all I know, they did that.

Not criticizing. Just stating what I think, based on the info at hand.

Of course they thought the man was just messing around with them at first, crying wolf. He was screwing around and it cost him his life. Not their fault. Plus if one of them had jumped in to try rescuing him, then there would have been two drownings.

While all that about the difficulty with rescue is true, they haven't to be so cold and callous about it.

They thought he was screwing around. They ended up being wrong about that in the long run, but I doubt that's because they're cold hearted monsters. That's what happens when people play around like that. It was the epitome of the boy who cried wolf. By the time it's realized screwing around has actually become a life threatening situation, it's often too late.

What kind of moron goes in the deep end if they can't swim? Was he on drugs?

Hard to tell a lot of the time if it's drugs or mental illness or both. I deal with such folk on a waterfront all the time. I've heard of them jumping in the water. If one does that on my watch, I'm not going in after him because I would just end up drowning too. Rescuing someone from deep water isn't like how it's portrayed on TV.

The drowning victim was homeless vagrant. I wonder if the response would be different if it was a damsel in distress" or a child?

The response probably would have been the same for a rich man, woman or teen they thought was playing around.

Why would the cop drown? He's supposed to be a trained professional. Then again, so were the "heroes" at Uvalde shooting.

Was he black? I know that's your particular soap box.

He's not a Navy Seal, or the Beach Patrol. He's a land mammal. He can probably dog paddle, then again, maybe not. They don't throw cops in the deep end, and if they live give them the job. You and Cyberdad, always looking for a knife to turn in someone.

That knife gets turned only when it's deserved.
The police motto is "to serve and protect." That includes risking their lives by rescuing a citizen from drowning, or running into a school where some maniac is murdering children and teachers.