A homeless man drowned in the United States in front of police officers who refused to intervene, according to images and a transcript released Monday (June 6) by authorities.
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Called on May 28 at dawn near an artificial lake in Tempe, Arizona, due to a
"disturbance"
caused by a couple, the agents first question the companion of Sean Bickings, 34, before go to the latter, a "homeless" according to the press release from the city, to question him in turn.
After a few minutes, Sean Bickings steps over the railing that separates him from the lake and descends to the surface of the water.
The agents tell him that he is not allowed to swim in the lake, but the 30-year-old still starts swimming towards an area under a bridge.
The images then interrupt, the city deeming the rest of the video too
"sensitive"
, then providing a transcription of the remarks made.
"What are you going to do now?"
, asks an agent.
"I am going to drown.
I'm going to drown
,” says Sean Bickings, according to the transcript.
“No, no
,” replies the agent.
A second policeman then asks the man in distress to swim to the pylon of the bridge and hang on to it.
"I can't, I can't
," says Sean Bickings.
"Okay, I'm not going to jump after you
," says the second agent.
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According to the rest of the transcript, the officers continue to insist that the homeless man fend for himself, while rebuffing his partner's efforts to beg them for help.
"You hear me?"
are the last words attributed to Sean Bickings.
Later, one of the officers notes that he
“hasn't surfaced for about 30 seconds”
.
His body will be fished out at the end of the morning.
The three police officers have been suspended pending the results of several investigations launched by the authorities, said the city, which announced its intention to make public the images of the pedestrian cameras of the other officers in the coming days.
