A man drowns in front of three police officers in Arizona, according to bodycam footage and transcripts.

During an investigation into the death of a homeless man who drowned while asking for help, three Tempe, Arizona police officers have been placed on ‘non-disciplinary paid administrative leave.’

Sean Bickings, 34, leaped into Tempe Town Lake in Arizona on May 28 after a reported disturbance with his wife, according to newly released bodycam footage and a transcript of the incident.

Authorities arrived on the site at 5 a.m. following complaints of a physical altercation, which the couple rejected. Bickings is seen getting into the water after officers arrived on the scene at 5 a.m. following reports of a physical altercation, which the couple denied.

Bickings jumped in the water after climbing over a four-foot fence to see if the pair had any outstanding arrest warrants.

‘I’m going for a swim,’ he is overheard saying. ‘Are you sure I’m free to leave?’

The cops told the 34-year-old he was not allowed to enter the lake while standing on the other side of the fence, as he leaped in.

He is seen swimming away from the shore while one officer is heard saying: ‘How far do you think he is going to be able to swim?’

The edited bodycam footage shared by officers then ends before Bickings drowned, because they said it was too sensitive.

Instead, they released a transcript in which Bickings begged the officers for assistance.

‘I’m drowning,’ he said.

‘Come back over to the pylon,’ one officer said.

‘I can’t, I can’t,’ Bickings said.

‘OK, I’m not going in after you,’ the other cop said.

‘Please assist me,’ he begged. Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please I’m not allowed to touch it. Oh, God, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please ‘Please assist me.’

‘I’m so distraught because he’s drowning there in front of you and you won’t help,’ Bickings’ wife, who was still on the scene, begged with authorities to intervene.

According to the transcript, one of the policemen threatened to put her in his police cruiser if she didn’t calm down.

Bickings was reportedly rescued by a boat, but it was too late, and he sank beneath the surface of the water.

His body was discovered about 11:20 a.m.

‘This is not a lake patrol unit with the equipment to execute a water rescue, these are street cops,’ Andy Anderson, a former assistant chief with Phoenix Police, told 12News.

The death, according to City Manager Andrew Ching and Police Chief Jeff Glover, was a “tragedy.”

The incident and the police response is being investigated by Scottsdale police and the department of public safety.

Officials said in a statement: ‘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.’