Arizona man drowns in lake as officers watch: ‘I’m not jumping in after you’

An Arizona man drowned in a reservoir as three police officers watched, refusing to step in and save him.

The victim, identified as 34-year-old Sean Bickings, drowned in Tempe town lake while three unnamed Tempe police officers stood by and watched, one telling Bickings "I'm not jumping in after you," Fox 10 Phoenix first reported.

Newly published body-cam video and a transcript of the incident released on 3 June provide insight into the events leading up to Bickings' drowning and the role of officers who were at the scene.

On 28 May around 5am, according to the recently released video, police responded to an alleged argument between Bickings and a woman.

The woman, who identifies herself as Bickings' wife in the video, says that the two sometimes have disagreements, but that Bickings did not get physically violent with her.

Two officers then approach Bickings, who was sitting on a bench near the bridge, with a third officer standing nearby. Officers chat with Bickings for a few minutes, asking him where he lives, if he is a fan of the band AC/DC because of the T-shirt he is wearing, and other questions.

As the officers and Bickings talked, the couple's names were being checked for any outstanding warrants, as is standard protocol, the Washington Post reported.