‘I’m Not Jumping in After You’: Arizona Cops ‘Stooded and Watched’ Black Man Drown, But Rescued Drowning Dog Days Earlier. Now They Must Pay

Eleven days before Tempe police officers watched a Black man drown, refusing to help even as he pleaded for help, they had helped save a dog from drowning in a canal connected to the same lake.

But instead of helping Sean Bickings, they stood by watching with one cop telling him, “I’m not jumping in after you.”

Then when Bickings begged his partner to save him, Tempe police handcuffed her to keep her from helping him.

Bickings, a 34-year-old homeless man known as Madrox, then disappeared underwater, never to reemerge. His body was found at the bottom of the lake six hours later by Tempe Fire Medical Rescue.

On April 30, Bickings’ mother agreed to a $150,000 settlement stemming from the wrongful death lawsuit she filed against the city of Tempe.

“Sean was a young man that everyone misses,” said attorney Benjamin Taylor of the Taylor & Gomez law firm in Phoenix who represented Bickings’ mother, Turee Toro, in her lawsuit and has represented several racial profiling victims in Arizona.

“We fought this battle so that his name would stand for change. Because of him, there are now life preservers where there were none, ensuring that no one else loses their life”

The incident took place on May 28, 2022 after Tempe police received a call about a possible domestic altercation between Bickings and his partner near Tempe Town Lake, a manmade lake where at least seven people have drowned since 2021.

Both Bickings and his partner told police they were merely arguing and there had been no physical contact. And both seemed cooperative with police, according to bodycam footage.

But when police began checking Bickings for warrants, he climbed over a 4-foot metal railing and entered the lake, wading several feet offshore. 

“What are you doing?” a cop asks.

“I am free to go, right?” responds Bickings.

“You can’t swim in the lake, man,” another officer says.

“You’re not allowed to swim in the lake,” another officer says.

“How far do you think he’s going to be able to swim?” one of the officers asks but nobody answers.

The officers display absolutely no urgency in trying to help him or even calling for help.

“The subject … jumped in the lake and is trying to swim away,” an officer tells dispatch as he watches displaying no concern for Bickings’ safety.

A man on a bicycle watching the drama unfold from a bridge showed more concern, telling the cops that he believed there were turbines in the lake that would suck Bickings in, but the cops did not seem to care.

The bodycam video released by police then ends with a written explanation that “due to the sensitive nature of the remaining portion of the recording, a transcript of the sensitive portion of the event if being provided for full transparency.”

Watch a shortened portion of the video here or the full video here.

‘I’m Drowning’

The transcript released by police of Bickings’ final moments reveals Bickings’ pleas for help as he is drowning while the cops tell him he is not drowning.

It also reveals how his partner, described as a “witness” in the transcript, tried to help him and pleaded for the cops to help him, only to be handcuffed.

The transcript also reveals the cops insisted Bickings swim to a nearby pylon, a tower supporting a bridge, but he said he was unable to do so.

But instead of seeing a man calling for help, they treated him like a suspect refusing to comply with their orders.

And when his partner tried to help him, telling the cops he was drowning, they told her to “chill out.”

Officer 2:  So what’s your plan right now? 

Victim:  I’m going to drown.  I’m going to drown. 

Officer 2:  No, you’re not 

Victim: (inaudible) 

Officer 1:  Go at least go to the pylon and hold on. 

Victim:  I’m drowning. (inaudible) 

Officer 2: Come back over to the pylon. 

Victim: I can’t. I can’t. (inaudible) 

Officer 1:  OK, I’m not jumping in after you.

Victim:  (inaudible) Please help me. Please, please please. 

Officer 2: I don’t think they can get (inaudible) the pedestrian bridge. 

Victim: I can’t touch. Oh God. Please help me. Help me. 

Officer 2: Sir, you need to listen to me. Hey, listen to me. Swim to the pylon. 

Victim: I can’t, I can’t. 

Witness: (inaudible) 

Victim: Can you hear me? 

Witness: Stop (inaudible) Get off of me. He didn’t do nothing wrong. Babe. 

Officer 1: We didn’t say he did anything wrong. 

Officer 2: Get off of the bridge. 

Witness: (inaudible) 

Officer 1: You need to chill out. 

Witness: Babe, babe. He’s drowning, he’s drowning. (inaudible) if you don’t come over here now. 

Officer 2:  If you don’t calm down, I’m going to put you in my car.   

Cops Rescue Dog from Drowning

The three Tempe police officers who were at the scene, Bryan Herman, Kelly Bennett and Jeffrey Gebbie, were investigated by the neighboring Scottsdale Police Department and cleared of any wrongdoing on the basis of “officer safety.”

“Scottsdale concluded, after speaking to local law enforcement experts in water-related job assignments, that the Tempe officers should not have attempted a rescue by jumping into the water,” Scottsdale city officials told local media. 

“Several reasons were cited, including the reality that drowning victims can physically overwhelm their rescuers.” 

Bickings’ mother filed her lawsuit in May 2023, accusing the city and officers of negligence and wrongful death, listing the three officers as defendants. Also listed as defendants were Tempe Fire Chief Greg Ruiz, former Tempe Police Chief Jeffrey Glover and the city of Tempe.

It was only after the lawsuit was filed that the city of Tempe added life preservers to the docks, marina and pedestrian bridge to the lake which had not been in place.

“Despite having extensive notice and knowledge of the dangerousness of Tempe Town Lake and numerous prior drownings in Tempe Town Lake, all of the Defendants were not prepared for this incident,” the lawsuit states.

“Defendants’ negligence, gross negligence, and/or breaches proximately and directly caused Decedent Bickings’ death and the damages suffered by Plaintiff Toro.”

The lawsuit also points out how Tempe police did not hesitate to help a drowning dog 11 days before refusing to help Bickings.

Body camera footage shows the two Officers holding onto a good Samaritan on the banks of the canal, unconcerned with their proximity to the body of water. 

The officers were also unconcerned with the swimming ability of the good Samaritan who admitted after the fact that he is “not a very good swimmer.” 

The Defendant Tempe Police Officers helped to rescue a dog despite the risk of being pulled into the canal themselves. 

Those Officers were willing to confront that risk for a dog on May 17, 2022; but, on May 28, 2022, the involved Defendant Tempe Police Officers did not even walk to the bank of the Tempe Town Lake while a human being drowned to death in front of them.

Two days before his death, Bickings had met with Tempe Mayor Corey Woods on how to help the city’s homeless population.

“I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Bickings the Thursday before his passing, as he had graciously volunteered to assist the City of Tempe and our nonprofit human services partners about how we can better work together to assist our unsheltered community,” Woods posted on his Facebook page a week after his death.

“It is my expectation that this investigation be handled professionally and transparently, as every member of our community is important and valued.”

But several commenters were skeptical.

“There is absolutely no chance of a transparent investigation when police investigate themselves,” a commenter responded.

‘I’m Not Jumping in After You’: Arizona Cops ‘Stooded and Watched’ Black Man Drown, But Rescued Drowning Dog Days Earlier. Now They Must Pay