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Jan 31, 2024

Tempe Town Lake gets flotation rings year after Sean Bickings drowning

Tempe began installing 37 flotation rings at many access points of Tempe Town

Tempe began installing 37 flotation rings at many access points of Tempe Town Lake Monday morning, just days after a wrongful death lawsuit was filed against the city by the family of a man who drowned in the lake last year.

"The hope here is to have flotation devices in the event that there is an emergency that somebody could utilize them as they so feel comfortable. But we do want folks to reach out to call 911 first," said Tempe Community Services Director Craig Hayton at a news conference at Tempe Town Lake Marina.

About half of the bright red ring devices have been installed as of Monday morning, according to Hayton. Once finalized, nine flotation rings will be installed at south Tempe staple Kiwanis Park Lake.

The remainder should be installed within the next couple of weeks. The rings are located near water access points and their locations can be accessed on a map online. Hayton said the hardware cost the city $43,000, and the installation costs have not been released.

The city announced in August that it is adding rescue devices to lakes and providing water rescue "throw bags" for every Tempe police officer.

Tempe Town Lake opened in 1999.

The recent action to install dozens of new flotation devices comes four days after a $3 million lawsuit was filed against the city by the family of Sean Bickings, the man who drowned in Tempe Town Lake last May.

Bickings, a beloved member of the unsheltered community in Tempe, died after officers of the Tempe Police Department did not assist him as he drowned.

Last year on May 28, officers responded to the area surrounding the Tempe Center for the Arts around 5 a.m. for reports of a fight between Bickings and a woman identified as his wife.

Initial reports from police and the city of Tempe stated that Bickings had attempted to flee police by jumping into Tempe Town Lake, but edited body camera footage later released shows Bickings telling police, "I am going for a swim. I am free to go, right?" He then got in the water and swam out 40 yards, before he began to struggle and called out for help.

Officers on the other side of the railing shouted for him to swim to a pylon and another eventually went for a boat. Neither entered the water nor found a way to pull him up. Bickings died in the water.

His death spurred outcry from the community and from activists who criticized the officers' actions and deemed them as "indifferent" and "insensitive."

Following the incident, the city of Tempe reached out to Scottsdale police to examine the officers' response. In a report, Scottsdale police found that "officers in this case should not have entered the water to perform a rescue" based on certain factors.

Since the footage was released, the Tempe Officers Association, the police union, 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 officers at risk.

The involved officers were placed on "non-disciplinary paid administrative leave" following the incident but have since returned to duty.

Bickings' family attorney Benjamin Taylor issued a statement on Monday regarding Tempe's move to install the flotation devices.

"The dangerousness of Tempe Town Lake was known for years by the City of Tempe. Many people of all ages and races have drowned in Tempe Town Lake over the years and there was no action taken on the part of Tempe until Sean Bickings’ tragic death and his mother's tireless efforts to push the City of Tempe to do more," Taylor said.

Hayton said no flotation devices have been installed since the lake was built and the effort to install these 37 flotation devices is the first time the city has taken community-focused water safety actions.

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Sean Bickings' death was not the first time a body was pulled from Tempe Town Lake as the city has faced backlash for years regarding drowning incidents.

Nearly a quarter century after creating the lake, the city is now installing life preservers on its shore.

These bright red circular devices are installed at water access points along both Tempe Town Lake and Kiwanis Park Lake, with unmissable directions plastered upon the front: In case of emergency, call 911.

Hayton said if the public were to see someone in danger in the lake, the first step is to call 911 so qualified officials can help save the person in danger as soon as possible. If they feel comfortable, they can easily unlatch the red flotation device case and throw the ring into the water to attempt to save the individual in danger.

The flotation device is a big ring attached to 100 feet of rope. The ring can be thrown to an individual in the water to grasp onto while the person at shore puts weight on the knotted end of the rope.

"This really is a community accessible floatation device. This is not meant just for staff in and around the lake. This is also meant for the public as well," Hayton said.

The city said the flotation devices would have been installed last fall, but Hayton said on Monday morning the effort was delayed so the devices could be customized.

"We also did customize the stands as you'll notice, to really make sure that they were as accessible as possible to the public. They do open up horizontally, which is a really key element instead of having to navigate opening up a cabinet vertically," Hayton said.

Hayton stressed that swimming is not permitted in either Tempe Town Lake nor Kiwanis Park Lake and the flotation devices work as a quick action measure for the community to help if someone is drowning or in danger in the lake.