The daughter-in-law of one of New York's top officials screamed, "I'm not a terrorist!" and fought with security officials in the Phoenix airport before being wrestled to the ground and handcuffed, witnesses told the Daily News yesterday.
Carol Anne Gotbaum, 45, of the upper West Side, died less than an hour later, after cops claim she apparently strangled herself while trying to escape from the handcuffs in a holding cell at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
"I'm not a terrorist! I'm a sick mom! I need help!" yelled the mother of three after she missed the 2:58 p.m. US Airways Express flight to Tucson, said airport workers who witnessed the confrontation Friday.
They said one cop put his knee in her back to restrain her while others grabbed her flailing arms.
"I believe she was a little not-there. She kept punching. She kept screaming. She kept kicking," one worker told The News. "She looked really scared, really frightened. I think she was afraid to go to jail."
Gotbaum's husband, Noah, is the son of longtime city labor leader Victor Gotbaum and the stepson of his wife, Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, a possible candidate for mayor in 2009.
Betsy Gotbaum said her stunned family was still searching for answers in the sudden death.
"Carol was a wonderful, wonderful person," Betsy Gotbaum said. "She was a wonderful mother. She was sweet and kind and loving. At this moment, we are awaiting the results of the investigation."
Cops said Gotbaum was traveling alone and could not explain why she was in Phoenix or what prompted her anger. She was charged with disorderly conduct.
Phoenix police spokesman Sgt. Andy Hill said Gotbaum kept screaming after she was placed in the holding cell, until cops realized she had been silent for several minutes and found her unresponsive. The county medical examiner has not determined a cause of death.
"The longest she was alone was five or 10 minutes," Hill said.
She was handcuffed behind her back, Hill said.
But he couldn't immediately explain why a distressed woman was left alone in handcuffs while seven police officers were in the security office.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/10 ... ml?ref=rss
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Anyone know how you can strangle yourself with handcuffs, while your hands are behind your back ?
Gotbaum kin's plea before dying: I'm not a terrorist!
Moderator: Super Moderators
Re: Gotbaum kin's plea before dying: I'm not a terrorist!
SETIsLady wrote: Anyone know how you can strangle yourself with handcuffs, while your hands are behind your back ?
I actually tried to clasp my hands behind my back and see, and I can't imagine how this could happen.
Embarrassing as this is to have to admit, I got hauled into the drunk-tank when I was in college (well-deserved. The bar was offering Tequila Sunrises for $1.00 and I walked in with a 10-dollar bill. Last thing I remember.), and I was told the next day (by a very irate officer) that I nearly succeeded in putting my knees to my chest and slipping my arms underneath them, which despite the fact that I've aged 20 years since then I can still do. But try as I may, I don't understand how you could get anything around your neck, or even into a position where your air supply is cut off.
A very strange and disturbing story, the whole thing.
Did you ever stop to think, and then forget to start again?
She was definitely out of control, you won't get any argument from me on that, but what they said happened doesn't make any sense. Live we were all a bit more nimble when we were younger 
I tried the same thing you did before I posted this, and can't see how what happened to her is possible either. And what are the odds that of all the people at the airport it would be someone that is related to a top NY official ? Perhaps she acted as if the rules didn't apply to her. I still don't get how she strangled herself.
I tried the same thing you did before I posted this, and can't see how what happened to her is possible either. And what are the odds that of all the people at the airport it would be someone that is related to a top NY official ? Perhaps she acted as if the rules didn't apply to her. I still don't get how she strangled herself.
SETIsLady wrote: Perhaps she acted as if the rules didn't apply to her.
I thought about that too, SL, and to be honest, my first reaction to this was "Man. It's a tragedy, but what a bi*ch.". But security aside, airline travel is so bad anymore, with so much frustration, that I wonder if she just lost it. Then, when she found herself further delayed by sitting hand-cuffed in a holding room, she went totally beserk. I can't see myself or certainly you getting quite this agitated over anything, but who knows what was going on.
A 45-year old mom with, yes, a prominent New York family. I, too, am very interested in hearing what *really* happened.
Did you ever stop to think, and then forget to start again?
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I've never been handcuffed or put in a jail cell so this question may seem naive, but here goes....
Why was it necessary to leave the cuffs on once she was detained in the holding cell?
Had someone removed the cuffs, this woman may still be alive.
They say she was screaming,
"I'm a sick mom! I need help!"
I wonder if she was indeed ill. Also, when someone in a situation like this screams out, "I need help!", someone should be assigned to guard/look after the person being held. JMO.
Why was it necessary to leave the cuffs on once she was detained in the holding cell?
Had someone removed the cuffs, this woman may still be alive.
They say she was screaming,
"I'm a sick mom! I need help!"
I wonder if she was indeed ill. Also, when someone in a situation like this screams out, "I need help!", someone should be assigned to guard/look after the person being held. JMO.
Woman who died at Phoenix airport was
on way to alcohol rehabilitation program
-AP wire story
PHOENIX — A woman who died after being handcuffed
and detained at the Phoenix airport was on her way to an alcohol rehabilitation program in Tucson, her family said Monday, accusing police of manhandling her during the ordeal.
on way to alcohol rehabilitation program
-AP wire story
PHOENIX — A woman who died after being handcuffed
and detained at the Phoenix airport was on her way to an alcohol rehabilitation program in Tucson, her family said Monday, accusing police of manhandling her during the ordeal.
Leaving Britney alone... for now
Awwwwww that clears things up a bit at least regarding her irrational behavior.WiDude wrote: Woman who died at Phoenix airport was
on way to alcohol rehabilitation program
-AP wire story
PHOENIX — A woman who died after being handcuffed
and detained at the Phoenix airport was on her way to an alcohol rehabilitation program in Tucson, her family said Monday, accusing police of manhandling her during the ordeal.
A little bit more on this...apparently she was not only handcuffed but she was also shackled to the table. 
Forensic expert: Impossible for handcuffed woman to strangle self in airport
Dubious of the initial police report, CBS asks a forensic expert to explain if a woman who died in an airport holding cell could have strangled herself while handcuffed.
Forty-five year old Carol Anne Gotbaum, a mother of three young children, may have accidentally strangled herself while trying to get out of her handcuffs, Phoenix Police Department spokesman Sgt. Andy Hill said Saturday, CBS reports.
“According to investigators, it appeared as though Ms. Gotbaum had possibly tried to manipulate the handcuffs from behind her to the front, got tangled up in the process, and they ended up around her neck area,” Hill said.
However, "Attorney Michael Manning, who was hired by Gotbaum's family to monitor the police investigation, said it doesn't seem possible she could have killed herself."
She was handcuffed behind her back and shackled to a table," Manning said. "It doesn't make sense that she could have physically managed to strangle herself
According to a guest on CBS News's The Early Show, forensic pathologist Daniel J. Spitz, "It's really not conceivable that she would be able to use the handcuffs that are holding her hands behind her back to cause a compressive force to her neck," but the chain running from the cuffs to the bench might conceivably have done it. "The autopsy is going to need to be done to confirm there was a compressive force to neck and that the cause of death is asphyxiation. It is also going to need to exclude that drugs or alcohol played a role or she had some unknown natural disease which played a role."
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Forensic_ ... _1002.html
Forensic expert: Impossible for handcuffed woman to strangle self in airport
Dubious of the initial police report, CBS asks a forensic expert to explain if a woman who died in an airport holding cell could have strangled herself while handcuffed.
Forty-five year old Carol Anne Gotbaum, a mother of three young children, may have accidentally strangled herself while trying to get out of her handcuffs, Phoenix Police Department spokesman Sgt. Andy Hill said Saturday, CBS reports.
“According to investigators, it appeared as though Ms. Gotbaum had possibly tried to manipulate the handcuffs from behind her to the front, got tangled up in the process, and they ended up around her neck area,” Hill said.
However, "Attorney Michael Manning, who was hired by Gotbaum's family to monitor the police investigation, said it doesn't seem possible she could have killed herself."
She was handcuffed behind her back and shackled to a table," Manning said. "It doesn't make sense that she could have physically managed to strangle herself
According to a guest on CBS News's The Early Show, forensic pathologist Daniel J. Spitz, "It's really not conceivable that she would be able to use the handcuffs that are holding her hands behind her back to cause a compressive force to her neck," but the chain running from the cuffs to the bench might conceivably have done it. "The autopsy is going to need to be done to confirm there was a compressive force to neck and that the cause of death is asphyxiation. It is also going to need to exclude that drugs or alcohol played a role or she had some unknown natural disease which played a role."
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Forensic_ ... _1002.html
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20071003/D8S1O0IO2.html
Autopsy in Airport Death Inconclusive
Oct 3, 7:41 AM (ET)
By CHRIS KAHN
PHOENIX (AP) - A private investigator who watched an autopsy of a woman who died after being handcuffed and detained at the Phoenix airport said bruises were scattered across her body, indicating there was a struggle, an attorney for the woman's family said.
An autopsy conducted Tuesday on Carol Anne Gotbaum was inconclusive, and toxicology results needed to determine a cause of death will not be available for a few weeks, a county medical examiner said.
Gotbaum's family accuses police of manhandling the New York woman when they arrested her Friday. They have hired an attorney to monitor the police investigation into her death, a private investigator to watch the official autopsy and a pathologist who performed a second autopsy Tuesday night.
"The doctor in this case is waiting for all testing to be done before she would rule on the cause and manner" of death, Boyer said. He said it will be a few weeks before toxicology tests are completed on Gotbaum, who was arrested for disorderly conduct after she was kept off a flight at Sky Harbor International Airport.
Michael Manning, who was hired by the family to monitor the police investigation, said the private investigator who watched the official autopsy said numerous bruises were scattered across Gotbaum's body.
"The body shows signs of a struggle," Manning said. "There are ligature marks, and some of those ligature marks match the chain that they used to chain her to the bench."
Police spokesman Sgt. Andy Hill said officers followed established policy while detaining Gotbaum. Police also said their procedures for arresting someone at the airport haven't changed since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The Phoenix Police Department's Professional Standards Bureau is conducting an internal investigation, a standard procedure following an in-custody death.
Autopsy in Airport Death Inconclusive
Oct 3, 7:41 AM (ET)
By CHRIS KAHN
PHOENIX (AP) - A private investigator who watched an autopsy of a woman who died after being handcuffed and detained at the Phoenix airport said bruises were scattered across her body, indicating there was a struggle, an attorney for the woman's family said.
An autopsy conducted Tuesday on Carol Anne Gotbaum was inconclusive, and toxicology results needed to determine a cause of death will not be available for a few weeks, a county medical examiner said.
Gotbaum's family accuses police of manhandling the New York woman when they arrested her Friday. They have hired an attorney to monitor the police investigation into her death, a private investigator to watch the official autopsy and a pathologist who performed a second autopsy Tuesday night.
"The doctor in this case is waiting for all testing to be done before she would rule on the cause and manner" of death, Boyer said. He said it will be a few weeks before toxicology tests are completed on Gotbaum, who was arrested for disorderly conduct after she was kept off a flight at Sky Harbor International Airport.
Michael Manning, who was hired by the family to monitor the police investigation, said the private investigator who watched the official autopsy said numerous bruises were scattered across Gotbaum's body.
"The body shows signs of a struggle," Manning said. "There are ligature marks, and some of those ligature marks match the chain that they used to chain her to the bench."
Police spokesman Sgt. Andy Hill said officers followed established policy while detaining Gotbaum. Police also said their procedures for arresting someone at the airport haven't changed since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The Phoenix Police Department's Professional Standards Bureau is conducting an internal investigation, a standard procedure following an in-custody death.
Did you ever stop to think, and then forget to start again?
well, then again.......
http://wcbstv.com/topstories/local_story_275165202.html
Oct 3, 2007 12:22 am US/Eastern
Passenger Describes Gotbaum Incident In Phoenix
Woman: 'She Was Screaming, 'You're Hurting Me!''
(CBS) NEW YORK CBS 2 HD has learned more about the wild confrontation between a Manhattan woman and police inside an Arizona airport. Other passengers are now describing what they saw minutes before Carol Anne Gotbaum was found dead inside a holding cell.
CBS 2 HD spoke to one woman who was there, but did not want to be identified. "She got her cell phone, broke it on a couple of customers and she threw it on the floor, hit them," the woman said.
Gotbaum, the daughter-in-law of New York City Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, was on her way to an alcohol rehabilitation clinic Friday when she missed her plane and started to scream. Police handcuffed her and put her in a holding room.
"She was screaming, 'You're hurting me! The handcuffs are too tight on me!'" the woman said.
After the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks security was intensified at airports around the country. The question in this case is whether all that new security did more harm than good.
Phoenix police have insisted they were following procedure in the case. And reports of Gotbaum's alcoholism and even two suicide attempts suggest she's had an unstable past.
Until a cause of death is determined, the case will continue to remain a mystery.
_______________________________________________
I'm beginning to wonder if perhaps she wasn't under the influence during all of this. I don't mean that in a nasty way (the Lord knows I've been "under the influence" once or twice in my own life
), but as a partial explanation.
At any rate, it's hideous. All of it.
Oct 3, 2007 12:22 am US/Eastern
Passenger Describes Gotbaum Incident In Phoenix
Woman: 'She Was Screaming, 'You're Hurting Me!''
(CBS) NEW YORK CBS 2 HD has learned more about the wild confrontation between a Manhattan woman and police inside an Arizona airport. Other passengers are now describing what they saw minutes before Carol Anne Gotbaum was found dead inside a holding cell.
CBS 2 HD spoke to one woman who was there, but did not want to be identified. "She got her cell phone, broke it on a couple of customers and she threw it on the floor, hit them," the woman said.
Gotbaum, the daughter-in-law of New York City Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, was on her way to an alcohol rehabilitation clinic Friday when she missed her plane and started to scream. Police handcuffed her and put her in a holding room.
"She was screaming, 'You're hurting me! The handcuffs are too tight on me!'" the woman said.
After the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks security was intensified at airports around the country. The question in this case is whether all that new security did more harm than good.
Phoenix police have insisted they were following procedure in the case. And reports of Gotbaum's alcoholism and even two suicide attempts suggest she's had an unstable past.
Until a cause of death is determined, the case will continue to remain a mystery.
_______________________________________________
I'm beginning to wonder if perhaps she wasn't under the influence during all of this. I don't mean that in a nasty way (the Lord knows I've been "under the influence" once or twice in my own life
), but as a partial explanation. At any rate, it's hideous. All of it.
Did you ever stop to think, and then forget to start again?
Its getting interesting now...
Organs withheld for 2nd autopsy
Phoenix police on Wednesday released a detailed account of events leading to Friday's death of a woman from a prominent New York political family, while an attorney for relatives ripped Maricopa County authorities for withholding body parts from an autopsy.
The police chronology describes the last 40 minutes of Carol Gotbaum's life. Although the account contains scant new information, it includes details supporting police assertions that the arrest was handled properly.
At the same time, the family's legal team raised a number of questions about the handling of the 45-year-old woman's body.
"They didn't give us the complete body," complained Phoenix lawyer Michael Manning, who represents Gotbaum's husband, Noah. "They wouldn't give us the neck, the brain and the heart."
Full Article
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/ ... h1004.html
Phoenix police on Wednesday released a detailed account of events leading to Friday's death of a woman from a prominent New York political family, while an attorney for relatives ripped Maricopa County authorities for withholding body parts from an autopsy.
The police chronology describes the last 40 minutes of Carol Gotbaum's life. Although the account contains scant new information, it includes details supporting police assertions that the arrest was handled properly.
At the same time, the family's legal team raised a number of questions about the handling of the 45-year-old woman's body.
"They didn't give us the complete body," complained Phoenix lawyer Michael Manning, who represents Gotbaum's husband, Noah. "They wouldn't give us the neck, the brain and the heart."
Full Article
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/ ... h1004.html
Re: Its getting interesting now...
Originally posted by SETIsLady
"They didn't give us the complete body," complained Phoenix lawyer Michael Manning, who represents Gotbaum's husband, Noah. "They wouldn't give us the neck, the brain and the heart."
You would think considering what happened the neck is kinda of an important part to study?
This thing was handled horribly, even if the police version is true (which I have my doubts) I seen better care for an out of control dog than they did for this woman. Chaining her up and just leaving her there?
And no camera's at the holding cell? In an era where EVERYWHERE there's camera's, there isn't one in that holding cell because they want to give the person who is detained privacy? As a citizen who is not comfortable with cameras everywhere, the ONE PLACE I do want cameras is in a small private room where you are going to be confronted with guys with tasers and nightsticks.