Agents received an early morning alert on May 28 for an artificial lake area of Tempe, Arizona, due to the “noise” of the man, who later died, and his companion.
After talking to his comrade, police approached 34-year-old “homeless” Sean Pickings to question him, according to a government statement.
A few minutes later, Pickings jumped into the water over the barrier that protected the lake. Agents said he had no right to be on the lake, but the 30-year-old said he swam to an area under a bridge.
The footage of the video was reduced as the city government considered the rest to be “very sensitive”, but a transcript of the conversation was released.
“So what’s your plan?” According to the transcript, one of the agents asks. “I’m going to drown, I’m going to drown,” Pickings said according to the transcript. “No, you will not … go to the program and wait,” another officer replies.
“I can not. I can not,” Pickings said. “Well, I’m not going to jump behind you,” warns the second agent.
According to the remainder of the transcript, the agents rejected his comrade’s request for help and insisted that the person swim to himself.
“Do you hear me?” Sean Pickings’ last words.
One of the agents wrote that Pickings “did not appear for about 30 seconds.” The body was recovered early in the morning.
The results of several investigations initiated by the authorities and the suspension of all three police officers were communicated to the city, which announced its intention to release the images from the cameras of other agents in the coming days.
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