Man rescued from Tempe Town Lake by police
An emergency crew pulled a man out of Tempe Town Lake after police say he refused to hold on to a throw bag to return to shore on Tuesday morning.
Tempe police and Tempe Fire Medical Rescue responded to the area for a call about indecent exposure around 9 a.m., according to Byron Thomas, a Tempe police spokesperson. Officers tried to speak to a man who was standing in the water to try to get him out "but he would not converse or respond."
Officials threw a water rescue throw bag at him multiple times but Thomas said the man refused to grab it and return to shore.
Responders pulled the man to the safety of the Tempe police boat. He was taken to the hospital for evaluation.
This event comes after the city of Tempe announced in August that it would add new water rescue equipment, improve training and adjust its policies, following the death of Sean Bickings who drowned in the lake.
On May 28, Bickings, 34, walked into the water away from officers who had responded to a call about a couple fighting.
In the water, Bickings began to ask for help, shouting that he was going to drown. Officers on the other side of the railing shouted for him to swim to a pylon and another eventually went for a boat unit. Neither entered the water or found a way to pull him up. Bickings died in the water.
More than three months after his death, Tempe announced the new water rescue measures. These include the installation of water rescue rings connected to ropes around Tempe Town Lake and Kiwanis Lake, according to a city news release.
"The city has purchased the equipment and is working to determine the best placements and ways to secure the devices," the news release said.
Officers will also be receiving more training on how to use rescue equipment.
Reach breaking news reporter Angela Cordoba Perez at Angela.CordobaPerez@Gannett.com or on Twitter @AngelaCordobaP.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Police officers pull man safely out of Tempe Town Lake
