Yet another bizarre "tragedy"
3 things:
1) Were the airport police (or bonafide cops) following correct procedure when she was disorderly at the boarding booth?
She was understandably upset/frustrated when the passengerway was closed and the plane ready to leave when she showed up late. Witnesses say that the police hurriedly took her down by force w/o communication. Police says otherwise, and state a video would be released.
My take is that if she refused to standdown (or at least back way from the counter when instructed to), considering the terrorist implications of trying to force way onto a plane... the police acted decisively appropriately. If she had reactedly calmly, I doubt it would had developed into a such a serious arrest.
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2) Should she had been allowed to fly alone?
You have someone possibly emotionally unstable (which incidentally usually would lead to drinking problems - that she is seeking treatment for). Should not the hubby or others be with her to ensure that she arrives where she is destined for?
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3) Circumstances of the holding cell
It would *seem* that she strangled herself with the chain that attacked her handcuffs to the bench, in the 5-10 minutes that she was being left alone (or rather, ignored by officers tired of her tantrums).
I would suggest that the officers are at fault here, as she was evidentally highly unstable. Besides, aren't "immates" supposed to not be able to harm themselves? (ie, not being chained in such a fashion)
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http://news.aol.com/story/_a/account...00010000000001
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Accounts Differ in Mother's Airport Death
By JOHN SULLIVAN,The New York Times
Posted: 2007-10-04 11:40:01
Filed Under: Nation News
(Oct. 4) - Carol A. Gotbaum was supposed to fly directly to Tucson last Friday to enter an alcohol rehabilitation program, but she delayed her departure to see her children off to school, her family said. The delay and the resulting nondirect flight were part of a series of circumstances that led to Ms. Gotbaum’s confrontation with the police at the Phoenix airport, and to her subsequent death in police custody.
The events surrounding her arrest are now under investigation, and the Phoenix Police Department said yesterday that it had a videotape of the arrest itself. But according to her family members and their lawyer, if the day had gone as planned, Ms. Gotbaum would not have been there at all.
Ms. Gotbaum, 45, the stepdaughter-in-law of New York City’s public advocate, Betsy Gotbaum, was originally scheduled to fly directly to Tucson for an alcohol rehabilitation program. But Ms. Gotbaum, who lived on the Upper West Side, delayed her flight because she wanted to say goodbye to her three children, two of whom were attending a new grammar school.
The change meant a connection through the busy Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Her husband, Noah, was apparently comfortable letting her fly alone because she was to meet a couple she knew at a stopover in Phoenix, the family said.
But Ms. Gotbaum arrived too late to make the connecting flight to Tucson, the family’s lawyer, Michael C. Manning, said.
According to a spokesman for Mesa Airlines, which operates the flight Ms. Gotbaum was to take, she arrived at the gate after boarding was completed. The passageway to the airliner was closed, and the plane was about to take off, said Paul Skellon, a spokesman for Mesa.
According to the Phoenix police, Ms. Gotbaum began arguing with the ticket agents, insisting that she be allowed to board the plane. The police were called, and officers saw Ms. Gotbaum “yelling and screaming” and running through the concourse, said Sgt. Andy Hill of the Phoenix police.
Sergeant Hill said that the officers tried unsuccessfully to calm Ms. Gotbaum, finally handcuffing her and arresting her on charges of disorderly conduct. But that account is now disputed by Mr. Manning.
Mr. Manning said yesterday that his office had interviewed three witnesses to the confrontation.
“The police approached her, according to witnesses, made no effort to speak to her, calm her or assess the situation,” he said. “Two of them immediately took her to the ground.”
Mr. Manning said witnesses recounted that Ms. Gotbaum was not threatening anyone, and instead was yelling, “I am not a terrorist, I am not a criminal, I am just a sick mother, I need to get help.”
Sergeant Hill said tersely yesterday that the account of Mr. Manning’s witnesses was “not true.”
“The officers did try to calm her down,” he said, adding that the arrest followed police procedure. “When we release the video, everyone will see.” He did not say when the video would be released.
Ms. Gotbaum was placed in a police holding cell at the airport; her hands were cuffed behind her, with a metal chain about two feet long attaching the handcuffs to a bench, Sergeant Hill said. She continued yelling in the cell, he said, and was left alone for 5 to 10 minutes. After she stopped shouting, the officers looked in the cell, he said, and found Ms. Gotbaum unconscious with the chain stretched across her neck. Attempts by the police and medical workers to revive her were unsuccessful.
Mr. Manning also criticized the officers’ actions in the holding cell, saying they should have obtained a medical evaluation for Ms. Gotbaum and should not have left her alone.
“You don’t leave an emotionally disturbed citizen shackled with that kind of potential weapon or device they could use to hurt themselves,” he said.
The cause of death is under investigation, and an autopsy was performed on Tuesday evening by the Maricopa County medical examiner. David Boyer, a spokesman for the medical examiner, said the results of the autopsy would not be released until laboratory results were completed in a few weeks.
A pathologist hired by the Gotbaum family, Dr. Cyril H. Wecht, was allowed to perform a separate examination, Mr. Manning said. He said yesterday that Dr. Wecht would wait for lab results before announcing his conclusion. But he added that a private investigator who also attended the exam said Ms. Gotbaum exhibited signs of “very serious trauma,” including bruises and a mark on her neck from the metal chain.
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Originally Posted by thefarmer
