Officers told him he was not allowed to swim in the lake, and one can be heard saying: “How far do you think he is going to be able to swim?”

The bodycam footage ends shortly afterwards, with a message it has been cut short “due to the sensitive nature of the remaining portion of the recording” and a transcript of the rest of the exchange is provided by the city authorities instead.

When Mr Bickings warned them he was going to drown, an officer replied: “No you’re not.”

He warned them a second time and another officer said: “Okay, I’m not jumping in after you.”

His partner, becoming increasingly distressed, urged the officers to jump in the water. “He’s drowning right in front of you and you won’t help,” she said.