[pico]

PHOENIX - A woman late to her plane became irate, was put in handcuffs and was later found dead in a holding cell, police said. Authorities were investigating Saturday if the woman choked herself while trying to get free from the handcuffs.

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Carol Ann Gotbaum, 45, of New York, was arrested Friday at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport after a conflict with gate crews who refused to allow her to board a plane, said Sgt. Andy Hill, a Phoenix police spokesman.

The airline said the plane was already preparing to depart. She was rebooked on the next flight, but "she became extremely irate, apparently running up and down the gate area," US Airways spokesman Derek Hanna said Saturday.

Officers handcuffed her and took her to the holding room, where she kept screaming, authorities said. Hill said officers checked on her when she stopped screaming and found her unresponsive.

Hill said it appears Gotbaum may have tried to get out of her handcuffs, became tangled in the process and the cuffs ended up around her neck. A cause of death will be determined by the Maricopa County Medical Examiner.

"She was very agitated and irate and angry," Hill said. "These are the things that led to the disorderly conduct arrest."

Authorities said neither a Taser nor pepper spray was used on the woman.

[SBR Lou]

Trippy, I was at that airport two years ago. Keep in mind some airport employees can seriously drive one very very crazy.

[pico]

yes, but she is clearly going nuts at the terminal. she is not a little kid anymore...damn

[jjgold]

what a lawsuit this is going to be

[pico]

what a lawsuit this is going to be

US air or the airport? she is one crazy bitch if you ask me.

[SBR Lou]

yes, but she is clearly going nuts at the terminal. she is not a little kid anymore...damn

Would it be wrong for the medical examiner to report if she were PMSing? While it may be unethical it would help shed some light on this whole ordeal.

[pico]

Would it be wrong for the medical examiner to report if she were PMSing? While it may be unethical it would help shed some light on this whole ordeal.

i want to know the whole story. why is she going crazy? i would just go chill at teh airport bar and board the next flight all toasted.

PMS is certainly a possibilty...i know how girls get when they PMSing...one wrong word, the next thing you know, she is chasing you down the hallway with a chef knife.

[ZeRo C@iDa*]

.....Very strange sH!t*

[pico]

PHOENIX - The family of a woman who died after being detained at the Phoenix airport has hired an attorney to monitor the police investigation into her death and is sending a representative to her autopsy.

Carol Anne Gotbaum's family accuse police of manhandling the 5-foot-7-inch woman when they arrested her Friday.

Authorities have said Gotbaum, who was handcuffed and shackled to a bench, may have accidentally strangled herself. An autopsy was scheduled for Tuesday, although results weren't expected for a few weeks, said David Boyer, acting director of the Maricopa County Medical Examiner's Office.

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Gotbaum, 45, was headed to an alcohol treatment program in Tucson, Ariz., when officers arrested her for disorderly conduct. Police said she was late for a flight and became angry when a gate crew didn't let her on the plane. Officers handcuffed her behind her back and took her to a holding room, where she kept screaming, authorities said.

Gotbaum "appears to have been manhandled by the Phoenix Police Department," said Betsy Gotbaum, the victim's stepmother-in-law and New York City's public advocate. "She cried out for help at the airport, but her pleas appear to have been met by mistreatment."

Police spokesman Sgt. Andy Hill said officers placed Gotbaum in a room without a surveillance camera. After about five to 10 minutes, officers no longer could hear her voice and went to check on her. Gotbaum was found unconscious with her hands "pressed against her neck area," Hill said.

Gotbaum had been shackled to a bench as well as handcuffed, Hill said.

Hill said officers followed established policy while detaining Gotbaum. Police also said that police procedures for arresting someone at the airport haven't changed since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

"Everything, so far that we know, is according to policy," Hill said.

The Phoenix Police Department's Professional Standards Bureau is conducting an internal investigation, a standard procedure following an in-custody death.

Gotbaum's family hired attorney Michael Manning to monitor the investigation.

Manning said it doesn't seem possible she could have killed herself.

"It doesn't make any sense," he said. "She was handcuffed behind her back and shackled to a table. It doesn't make sense that she could have physically managed to strangle herself."

Manning, a high-profile lawyer who represented the government against failed savings and loan executive Charles Keating, has previously won settlements against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio in wrongful-death lawsuits.

He said the family hasn't decided whether it should file sue Phoenix police.

"We're not going to jump to any conclusions without any evidence," he said. "We want to see what the autopsy reveals. We want to see what exactly happened to her."

(This version CORRECTS attribution of police policy since Sept. 11, 2001.)

[pico]

she was at a alcohol treatment program

[pico]

airport guards are not like blackwater mercs...they don't really abuse power that much. i bet 90% it is that crazy bitch's own fault.

i bet the autoposy will reveal that she is coming down from a meth binge....that will be my guess.

[dodif]

There's always more than meets the eye in Sheriff Joe's town, but it's usually suppressed. .

now theres someone with a brain around here

[BrentCrude]

This is a hard one to decide who to take sides with because I'm not a fan of authority figures and am not a fan of obnoxious New York City people.Alex Jones sort of took this approach on his radio show that this woman had union-political-mob connections and she had been knelt on by some oversized cop.Of course he can't stand authority figures either but the conclusion was that a lawsuit will be won.

As for New York women being crazy,hell,the whole state is crazy when they vote someone into office like Hillary as their senator.

[pico]

This is a hard one to decide who to take sides with because I'm not a fan of authority figures and am not a fan of obnoxious New York City people.Alex Jones sort of took this approach on his radio show that this woman had union-political-mob connections and she had been knelt on by some oversized cop.Of course he can't stand authority figures either but the conclusion was that a lawsuit will be won.

As for New York women being crazy,hell,the whole state is crazy when they vote someone into office like Hillary as their senator.