‘He was truly, truly loved’: Community, friends mourn man who drowned in Tempe as police watched
Sean Bickings, the man who drowned at Tempe Town Lake while police watched, was described by his friends as a man who was loved by everyone who knew him.
“I thought he was like a long-lost brother,” Benjamin Jeffrey, one of Bickings' friends, told The Arizona Republic. “He’s a wonderful man, he’s got a lot of friends, everybody loves him. He’s just a big teddy bear guy.”
His death has put police protocol into question after officers who were watching from the bridge did nothing to rescue him.
More: 'Not jumping in after you': Tempe Town Lake drowning spurs protocol investigation
Bickings, also known as 'Madrox', drowned late last month. Police released edited footage of the event shortly after, and the officers involved have been put on non-disciplinary administrative leave.
His death has spurred an outpour of support from the community and from activists who have criticized the officers' actions and deemed them as "indifferent" and "insensitive."
Bickings described as a leader, his loss has taken a toll
Katherine Kouvelas-Edick is the founder of Aris Foundation, a nonprofit focused on advocating for homeless adults in Arizona. She said Bickings was a leader in the Tempe unhoused community.
"He was a leader because of his kindness," she said. "He was truly, truly loved in this community. There's not one person that you would speak with who would have anything bad, negative to say about him."
She said Bickings' death has taken an emotional toll on the community.
"Everybody is very upset right now, and no one more so than the homeless community, they're suffering a huge loss," Kouvelas-Edick said. "I just wanna make sure that people know that this is not just a homeless person who died in the lake, this is a man who was truly, truly loved, and his life mattered."
Jeffrey used to be a member of the homeless community and met his friend Bickings in January 2018 after losing his home following a substance abuse relapse.
Jeffrey said living with Bickings made a difficult part of his life easier.
'Another community member has died': Residents, activists protest Tempe police inaction during Bickings drowning
"We supported one another, we basically were just like brothers on the street," Jeffrey said. "That's what made his passing so very difficult for me, and a lot of his friends, because we felt like we had lost a family member."
Jeffrey described Bickings as a smart, kind, and warm-hearted man who, even though he had almost nothing, would share all of what he did have with others.
“He was a very generous and giving person,” he said. “If he only had one t-shirt, he would take it off his back and give it to you.”
He listened to hard rock, metal, and punk rock. He liked to talk fast, and he had a way of making other people smile, Jeffrey said.
“He was real quick-witted," Jeffrey said. "He always had a joke, he always had a funny thing to say that would catch you off-guard and make you laugh. He was just a wonderful person all around."
Jeffrey said he lived with Bickings for more than three years until he got out of homelessness in August last year.
Even then, he would continue to see Bickings every Tuesday evening during weekly events organized by the Aris Foundation to serve meals to homeless people at Jaycee Park in Tempe.
Jeffrey said Bickings would talk about homelessness "being like an extended camping trip.”
He said Bickings would speak about wanting to find housing with his partner, but the warrants he had against him made it harder for him to access housing programs.
“He had a couple of warrants and he just wanted to figure out how to fix them," Jeffrey said. "We would try to tackle his problems and encourage him to do better, and it was starting to work, and then he died."
What we know about the drowning
Bickings drowned in the early morning of May 28 following an encounter with Tempe police.
Officers with the Tempe Police Department were called to the Tempe Center for the Arts at 700 W Rio Salado Parkway after receiving reports of a domestic fight.
Police found Bickings and a woman who said she was his wife. Officers interviewed them and ran a background check.
According to a City of Tempe statement released June 3, officers found three outstanding warrants on Bickings' records.
Edited video camera footage released to The Republic on Monday shows Bickings climbing over a fence and asking officers if he could "go for a swim."
After swimming about 30 yards, Bickings started telling police he was drowning and begged officers for help, according to a transcript of footage released to The Republic.
"Please help me. Please, please, please," Bickings told police. "I can't touch. Oh, God. Please help me. Help me."
The Tempe officers stood by and watched, telling Bickings they would "not jump in" to help him, the transcript shows.
Within the day of the drowning, police issued a statement saying a man ran and jumped over a fence and into Tempe Town Lake, just east of the pedestrian bridge. According to that release, officers maintained communication with the man and tried to get him to the bridge, but the man "was uncooperative" with rescue efforts.
'Please help me': Police union cites lack of training in response to man drowning as officers watched
The original police statement said police "immediately" started rescue efforts as police got on a boat and called units with Tempe Fire Medical and Rescue.
Local activists rejected the story, saying officers stood by and watched Bickings drown.
Since the release of the footage, the Tempe Officers Association, the police union for the department, described the drowning as a "human tragedy," but stated officers do not possess water-rescue training and lack equipment to perform water rescues without putting the officer at risk.
Bickings met with Tempe city officials two days before he drowned
On May 26, two days before he drowned, Bickings attended an event organized by the Aris Foundation and the city of Tempe where he met with city officials to discuss needs and solutions for the homeless community.
According to Kouvelas-Edick, one of the meeting's organizers, Bickings told officials about his warrants and asked if there was anything he could do to clear his records.
“He was making a concerted effort to better his situation,” Jeffrey said. “He had a lot of courage, being a homeless person, walking into a meeting with city officials and asking these questions and being a part of a very proper conversation.”
The meeting, held at the conference room at Westside Multi-Generational Center on 5th and Roosevelt streets in Tempe, was the third time city officials had opened up a conversation with homeless people to discuss solutions to community issues, according to Kouvelas-Edick.
Kouvelas-Edick said she took part in selecting the community members who attended, and that Bickings was invited as a leader because of his influence.
"Sean was an amazing young man," Kouvelas-Edick said. "He was just articulate and intelligent, and just bright, and he had had a rough time. It's not easy being homeless on the streets."
Asking the readers: Police didn't save a drowning man in Tempe Town Lake. Would you try?
Kouvelas-Edick also said Bickings came into the meeting a little late and there were no seats available, so Tempe Mayor Corey Woods, who was present at the meeting, gave Bickings his seat.
Woods spoke about Bickings at the start of a Tempe City Council meeting held on Thursday.
"I had the chance to meet him. He was a very, very nice man. We are very sorry for his loss and we mourn with his family and his friends,” Woods said as he called for a brief moment of silence, out of respect for Bickings.
Austin Davis, founder of AZ Hugs for the Houseless, also attended the May 26 meeting in which Bickings was present.
Davis spoke out at a protest that also served as a vigil for Bickings Thursday prior to the Tempe City Council meeting. He described him as an active member of the community.
“He was actively using his voice and working and being there in that space, trying to provide ideas and listen,” Davis said.
Davis said he got to know and work with Bickings through his organization over the last few years.
“I can tell you with complete certainty that in the time that I knew him, the kindness and care he showed those he loved and his community inspired me deeply,” Davis said. “He was just a wonderful, beautiful human being, and that deserves to be recognized.”
Republic reporters Miguel Torres, Sam Kmack, and Perry Vandell contributed to this article.
Reach breaking news reporter Laura Daniella Sepulveda at lsepulveda@lavozarizona.com or on Twitter @lauradNews.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Tempe community mourns man who drowned as police watched
