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Man drowns as Arizona police watch: 'I'm not jumping in after you'
Washington Post (via SF Gate) ^ | 6/6/2022 | By Julian Mark

Posted on 06/06/2022 3:50:27 PM PDT by NohSpinZone

Just after 5 a.m. on May 28, Tempe police officers responded to an apparent disturbance between Bickings and a woman at the Tempe Center for the Arts, which sits on a promenade along the Tempe Town Lake, a reservoir in the city. In its statement, the city referred to Bickings as "unsheltered."

Body-camera footage released by the city shows officers approach and speak to a woman who identified herself as Bickings's wife. As she picked up her belongings off the ground, she explained that she and Bickings sometimes have disagreements but said that he did not physically harm her.

Two of the officers then walked over to Bickings, who was seated on a bench facing the water, according to the body-camera footage. By this point, the officers were running the couple's names for outstanding warrants, a standard procedure, according to the city. The police later said Bickings had three outstanding warrants, the Arizona Republic reported.

But those did not come up during Bickings's encounter with police, according to the body-camera footage, which shows the officers trying to make small talk with Bickings as they ran the check.

That's when Bickings slowly climbed over a short fence dividing the boardwalk and the water. When one of the officers asked what Bickings was doing, Bickings replied that he was going "for a swim."

"I'm free to go, right?" Bickings asked.

The officers said he was not allowed to swim in the lake, but Bickings waded in and started swimming a freestyle stroke toward a bridge, according to the body-camera footage.

(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...


TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: arizona; drowns; reservoir; tempe
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To: NohSpinZone

Anything from the Washington Post is suspect to me.


121 posted on 06/07/2022 3:14:23 AM PDT by stratboy
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To: NohSpinZone

I can’t believe some of the comments on this thread... Some of these people sound exactly like liberals.

No way can it be the fkn idiots fault who disregarded the cops instructions, it’s the cops fault!! “Because he didn’t want to get his uniform wet”??


122 posted on 06/07/2022 3:30:19 AM PDT by sit-rep ( )
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To: Bruce Campbells Chin

That’s right.


123 posted on 06/07/2022 3:37:53 AM PDT by ViLaLuz (2 Chronicles 7:14)
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To: Reno89519

And you obviously believe that society in general is the same? I knew you anti cop zealots would immediately compare this to the recent elementary school response. This is as different as night and day. He told the moron not to go, the moron went. Now the moron is dead. It’s not the cops fault. It’s the morons fault. End of friggin story...


124 posted on 06/07/2022 3:38:37 AM PDT by sit-rep ( )
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To: fightin kentuckian

That’s right. Do people expect an LEO to jump in with body armor & gun belt, or leave that all on the shore where anyone can grab it? There are no swim quals in police academy.


125 posted on 06/07/2022 3:40:24 AM PDT by ViLaLuz (2 Chronicles 7:14)
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To: NohSpinZone
A potential drowning is a very serious situation even if the rescuer is a skilled swimmer and trained in life saving.

Fully dressed in the water while dealing with a panic stricken person could easily result in both of them drowning.

I probably would have jumped in to attempt to save the guy but I'm a skilled swimmer and not about to assume the officers have the same skill level as I have.

126 posted on 06/07/2022 3:54:28 AM PDT by Hot Tabasco (I'm Jimmy Crack Corn and I don't care)
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To: Lurker
So much for serve and protect.

Their new motto


127 posted on 06/07/2022 4:04:56 AM PDT by COBOL2Java (Fauci is a despicable little turd)
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To: sit-rep

I’d bet his last words were “I know my rights”.


128 posted on 06/07/2022 4:32:48 AM PDT by Semper Vigilantis (Biden out + Kamela in + Obama VP + Kamel out = we're screwed)
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To: usurper

“ His death achieved nothing.”

His death had honor. A concept waaaaay too many cops are completely unfamiliar with these days.

L


129 posted on 06/07/2022 4:34:44 AM PDT by Lurker (Peaceful coexistence with the Left is not possible. Stop pretending that it is.)
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To: Lurker

As a lifeguard we were taught about the danger of saving an adult male, especially one bigger than you. Always swim around and approach the victim from the rear. If they get you in a death grip then go straight down. They will let go to get back to the surface.


130 posted on 06/07/2022 5:49:25 AM PDT by circlecity
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To: circlecity

“ As a lifeguard we were taught about the danger of saving an adult male…”

I had the same or very similar training. The joke was to take a 4 foot long piece of 2x4 out with you, club the victim to calm him or her down, and then effect the rescue.

L


131 posted on 06/07/2022 5:53:01 AM PDT by Lurker (Peaceful coexistence with the Left is not possible. Stop pretending that it is.)
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To: sit-rep

A person is not anti-cop just a question the cops poor actions. Do you also defend the cops who stood outside the school kids were screaming and being shot and killed? I presume you’re being consistent here in defending the cops regardless of what they do, maybe you defended the cops when they intentionally killed people that they didn’t have to, like shooting a black guy in the back as he runs away? Or kneel on his neck until he suffocates? Yes, go ahead and defend them, defend them all. It’s pathetic.


132 posted on 06/07/2022 10:54:18 AM PDT by Reno89519 (FJB. Respect America, Embrace America, Buy American, Hire American.)
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To: Lurker

SCOTUS has ruled that the police have NO obligations to protect the citizen. It would appear that they have no obligations to save a citizen.

Just saying


133 posted on 06/07/2022 11:24:50 AM PDT by taxcontrol (The choice is clear - either live as a slave on your knees or die as a free citizen on your feet.)
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To: Reno89519

shut up stupid...


134 posted on 06/07/2022 11:45:30 AM PDT by sit-rep ( )
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