The late Sean Bickings of Tempe. The media are saddling up on this story for obvious reasons.
So much for serve and protect.
L
Just saw the story and the video.. guys fault period. He jumped in, couldn’t swim good and drowns. Shxt happens don’t care.
Bad move by the officer regardless of circumstances. More proof if people need any that the police are not there to help you.
To make matters worse, the cops handcuffed and tased witnesses who were ready, willing and able to jump in to save the drowning man.
/kidding
If had been partially buried in sand I bet they would have dug him out. AZ folks just not used to that wet stuff.
It’s just proves that we can’t depend on others to save us.
The late Sean Bickings of Tempe. The media are saddling up on this story for obvious reasons.
At a local pool there’s a cop who swims most mornings or evenings, says he wants to be in practice to be able to help people in the water if necessary, but it’s his own initiative, don’t believe his agency requires it.
But frankly, looking at some of these homeless people, a ten foot pole is as close as I would want to get to them.
“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”
He goes in after the cops told him he couldn’t and then begs for them to help him after he did what they told him not to do.
What is it about blacks refusing to comply with police directions?
I’m not totally unsympathetic but dadgum.
There’s a fair chance if one of these cops woulda jumped in to help this guy he woulda pulled them down with him.
LEOs got a crappy job. Sometimes it’s damned if they do and damned if they don’t.
In the interest of fairness, there was surely a lifering nearby: find it, throw it, and when he rejects it while the LEO boat pulls into view -- well, bye.
And the reasons the police are the enemy keeps on increasing.
This is not the officer’s fault PERIOD! NO ONE is obligated to save a drowning person. That’s exactly how two people get drowned. Even lifeguards use a flotation device if they go in solo. The story blames the officers for the drowning which is very wrong. Long story short, the guy is the latest Darwin Award winner and owes it all to himself.
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.
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
Well they could have gotten wet /s
I’m critical of the cops and there’s nothing here to criticize. Idiot endangered himself and if the cops jumped in after him he’d endanger them too. They did the right thing AND they saved on laundering their gear.
I used to be certified as a lifeguard. Even as a trained lifeguard, you are not expected to rescue someone who could easily drown you.
Looking on the biceps of Mr unsheltered, and his size, it would be very difficult to keep someone that size in a position where they are on their back, and you are restraining them while getting them to shore unless they were unconscious.
A flotation device on a rope would be the prudent action, and I doubt one was nearby.