Three police officers from Tempe, Arizona, have been placed on leave following an incident during which they watched a man jump in a lake and drown last month.
“Tempe has asked the Department of Public Safety (DPS) and Scottsdale Police to examine the Tempe Police response to the drowning,” a June 3 news release by the Tempe city administration said. “The three Tempe police officers who responded to the call and witnessed the drowning have been placed on non-disciplinary paid administrative leave pending the investigations, as is customary in critical incidents.”
The incident took place on May 28 when officers at the Tempe Police Department responded to reports of a verbal domestic confrontation between a man and a woman at around 5:00 a.m. When officers arrived at the scene, Sean Bickings, 34, and his wife told them that they were only having a discussion and that the man had not committed any physical violence against her….