And the linkWoman In Police Custody Dies At Sky Harbor
PHOENIX -- A 45-year-old woman who was in police custody after being arrested for disorderly conduct in a Phoenix airport terminal died in a holding room while apparently struggling with her handcuffs, police said.
Carol Ann Gotbaum, 45, left alone in the room, was possibly trying to break free from the handcuffs when she got them entangled around her neck, said Sgt. Andy Hill of the Phoenix Police Department.
Hill said a medical examiner will have to make a final determination as to the manner and cause of death.
Gotbaum is the daughter-in-law of New York City Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, the Daily News reported in Sunday editions.
"We are extraordinarily upset," said Gotbaum.
She added that her daughter-in-law had three young children.
Gotbaum spoke briefly to media across the street from her Manhattan building on Sunday.
"It's obviously very, very difficult for us, we are dealing with it as best we can. My number one focus is those children and my stepson. I hope the press will consider our feelings and please, please, please don't ask us any more questions," she said.
The flier went into medical distress and lost consciousness, Hill said.
Officers administered CPR and firefighters joined in when they arrived at Terminal 4, but their sustained efforts could not revive her.
According to witnesses, Friday afternoon's incident at Sky Harbor International Airport began when Gotbaum was unable to board her flight and started arguing with a gate attendant, Hill said.
Gotbaum was denied entry to a US Airways Express flight headed to Tucson because she was late arriving at the gate and the plane was already preparing to depart, US Airways spokesman Derek Hanna said Saturday.
She was rebooked on the next flight, but "she became extremely irate, apparently running up and down the gate area."
A number of witnesses told officers they observed Gotbaum yelling and screaming while running through the terminal, according to Hill.
Two officers who initially responded approached her as she was going past the security checkpoint area back into the terminal, Hill said.
The officers were not able to calm Gotbaum and eventually arrested her for disorderly conduct, Hill said.
Woman Enraged, Witnesses Say
Gotbaum initially resisted being handcuffed, but she was finally taken into custody near the security checkpoint, according to Hill.
The woman was whisked to a police holding room office in terminal 4.
A number of police employees were in the room at the time, Hill said. Gotbaum was placed in an individual holding room by herself in handcuffs.
When officers outside the door did not hear her voice, they went in to check on her and found her unconscious.
While I regret that the woman died, I'm not rushing to the 'blame the police' bandwagon on this one. The only way she could have done this to herself is if she was trying to get OUT of the handcuffs or manipulate them in ways she wasn't supposed to. If the cuffs were chained to the wall or the floor, that kind of thing can easily happen. I knew a guy once who was drunk in a holding cell and almost did the same thing.
