Two years passed since man drowned in Tempe Town Lake as police watched. What's changed?

Two years after the death of Sean Bickings, his family planned a vigil Saturday night at Tempe Town Lake, where he drowned as police looked on.

The vigil was expected to commemorate his life and continue the fight to raise awareness of the dangers people living on the street face, according to an announcement by the family.

"Sean was really big on homeless issues, and he was meeting with the mayor about those issues and how police should approach people who are homeless," said Benjamin Taylor, the family's attorney. "It's ironic and very disheartening that after meeting with the mayor, just a couple of days later, he dies because of the way Tempe policed treated him."

Bickings's death made national headlines in the summer of 2022 after two Tempe officers watched him drown. The officers had approached Bickings and a woman as they responded to a domestic dispute call May 28, 2022. Bickings walked away from officers, and as officers got closer, he went over the lake's railing to avoid officers.

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Once in the water, Bickings asked if he was free to go and began swimming further into the lake before he began drowning and asked for help. The officers told Bickings they weren't going to go in after him.

His death ignited demands for accountability from the community of people experiencing homelessness to which Bickings belonged. They felt the officers had been indifferent to Bickings' cries for help.

After his death, Tempe officials announced the city would make changes to help prevent future drownings.

Tempe put up floatation rings around the lake, gave officers life jackets and throwable floatation bags, and funded a $1.8 million park ranger program to increase patrols around its parks and the lake.

It also put together a co-response program, which requires police to respond alongside the city's crisis response team, called Care 7, to calls involving homicide, domestic violence and sexual abuse. Care 7 and the city's homeless outreach team will respond with police on calls related to people who are experiencing homelessness.

Almost a year after his drowning, Bickings's family filed a lawsuit against Tempe, the Tempe Police Department and the officers who responded to the call, saying they were all reckless and negligent.

Tempe police rescued a dog from the lake about a week before Bickings drowned, according to the suit, yet officers "did not even walk to the bank ... while a human being drowned to death in front of them."'

The city declined to comment on the lawsuit because it is pending.

"While we sympathize with those who mourn him, it is not our practice to discuss ongoing litigation," said Kris Baxter, the city's interim communications director.

Vigil information: Saturday, May 25, at 5 p.m. near theTempe Center of the Arts on Tempe Town Lake.

Reach the reporter at miguel.torres@arizonarepublic.com.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Sean Bickings vigil planned two years after drowing death