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Mother of man who drowned in Tempe Town Lake sues the city

The mother of a homeless man who drowned in Tempe Town Lake after entering the water to avoid being questioned by police has filed a lawsuit against the city.

Top Tempe officials have called the death of Sean Bickings about a year ago a tragedy.

The wrongful death complaint says Bickings went under water around when police handcuffed his partner as she tried to answer his call for help.

Despite previous drownings in Tempe Town Lake, the lawsuit alleges that the city and its first responders were not prepared for what happened when Bickings went in the water.

Several factors reportedly kept a police boat from reaching Bickings quickly.

Firefighters reportedly took six hours to deploy a dive team that found his body.

An administrative review by Scottsdale police found that Tempe officers should not have gone into the water to rescue Bickings.

Tempe declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Matthew Casey has won Edward R. Murrow awards for hard news and sports reporting since he joined KJZZ as a senior field correspondent in 2015.