Nationwide — The mother of Sean “Madrox” Bickings, a 34-year-old African American man from Tempe, Arizona, agreed to a $150,000 settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit after police officers watched him drown without trying to rescue him. Bodycam footage later showed officers refusing to enter the water even as Bickings repeatedly begged for help.
According to Atlanta Black Star, Bickings died on May 28, 2022, near Tempe Town Lake after police responded to reports of a possible domestic dispute involving Bickings and his partner. Both told officers they had only been arguing and that no physical violence had taken place. Video footage showed the couple cooperating with officers during the encounter.
As police checked Bickings for possible warrants, he climbed over a railing and entered the lake. Officers warned him that swimming in the lake was prohibited, but they did not appear alarmed as he moved farther into the water. One officer even asked how far Bickings would be able to swim, but nobody took action to help him.
Minutes later, Bickings began struggling in the water and called out for help several times. Police transcripts showed him saying, “I’m going to drown,” while officers instructed him to swim toward a nearby bridge pylon. One officer eventually responded, “I’m not jumping in after you.”
Bickings’ partner also pleaded with officers to save him as he struggled to stay above water. Instead of helping, officers restrained and handcuffed her after telling her to “chill out.” Bickings soon disappeared beneath the surface and never came back up. Tempe Fire Medical Rescue later recovered his body from the lake about six hours later.
On April 30, Bickings’ mother, Turee Toro, finalized the settlement with the city of Tempe. Her attorney, Benjamin Taylor, said the lawsuit led the city to install life preservers around the lake following the incident.
The lawsuit accused the city and several officials of negligence and wrongful death. It argued that Tempe officials were aware of previous drownings at the lake but failed to equip officers with proper rescue tools or emergency response measures.
The case drew more attention after court filings revealed that officers had helped rescue a drowning dog from the same canal system just 11 days before Bickings died. According to the lawsuit, officers were willing to approach the water and take risks to save the animal, but did not do the same for Bickings.
The officers involved, Bryan Herman, Kelly Bennett, and Jeffrey Gebbie, were later cleared of wrongdoing after an outside investigation conducted by Scottsdale police. Investigators concluded the officers were not required to jump into the water because of safety concerns connected to drowning rescues.
Two days before his death, Bickings had met with Tempe Mayor Corey Woods to discuss ways to support the city’s homeless community. After the incident, Woods said every member of the community mattered and promised the investigation would be handled transparently.