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 ...
Castle Rock vs Gonzales
LEOs have no Duty to Protect.
I can hear it now
“he was an up and coming pro skateboarder and his life was cut tragically short by two racist cops”
Judgment call.
I can’t fault the officers.
Exactly
Legally meaningless, wildly outdated.
A better, and more honest one would be "To Oppress and Go Home."
Remember, these are the guys who will be confiscating your guns. They will be the face at your front door, and the ones who will shoot your dog. "Only following Orders."
They might say, "Sorry!" After.
Probably high
Exactly. No need for me to repeat it (was going to cite almost word for word).
Unless you are a good swimmer and a trained lifeguard, jumping in to save someone is insane!
People drowning panic, in their panic they will grab on to anyone that is attempting to rescue them (which is why knowing how to approach a drowning person is vital). An unskilled rescuer is likely to drown as well.
The best you can do is toss them a rope or something that will float that they can hang on to until help arrives.
May not be the popular opinion on this site today, but sometimes reality has to be accepted.
Totally agree.
A lot of people on this thread don’t understand you can’t save a drowning person unless you’ve had the proper training.
Without that it’s a good way to get yourself dead as well.
Agreed!
I agree with the sentiment that the “protect and serve” role of police officers has become an antiquated notion, but jumping in and trying to save someone who is drowning will likely get you killed unless you are well-trained for the situation.
The headline and overall tone of the article was written as a hit piece against the officer.
A black man who is unaware blacks can’t swim.
“More proof if people need any that the police are not there to help you.”
Why blame the cops? The idiot was warned not to swim in the lake. I dont get anti-=cop conservatives on FR. You hate cops BUT you want them at your doorstep when the sh*t hits the fan. You talk like the ghetto animals from BLM.
They told the guy to NOT go in......he did it anyway.
As far as I’m concerned that qualifies as attempting to both serve AND protect.....he refused to listen....that’s on him.
I’ve had a rule of thumb for a long time, it goes something like this:
If I tell someone their hair is on fire and the give me the middle finger.....I say let it burn.
That lake is not a lake....kind of a shallow, blocked off small river. People do NOT swim in it. The cops did nothing wrong, but of course horrible outcome. I’d put a small inflatable in the squad cars now...couple of bucks and take up no room. I guess this is going to be a thing now with the meth heads that squat down there. Meth is a giant problem in Phx.
It’s a reservoir. Hard to tell what drainage/currents are in there. It may not have been safe for anyone to go in after him. There’s a reason why swimming is not allowed there.
Some people have no business being cops. Actually, its looking like a lot more than just some
Having been trained myself (thank God) I was able to save myself (at an earlier time) and my son from drowning. It clicked in like second nature. I knew d@mned well not to jump in and happened to notice the cleaning net pole quickly. And it happens very fast.
Well they could have gotten wet /s
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