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Family Blames Police In Woman's Death

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By CHRIS KAHN, The Associated Press

Published: October 2, 2007

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.
Carol Anne Gotbaum, 45, was late for a flight Friday 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.

A Gotbaum family representative will be present at an autopsy on Tuesday, said their attorney, Michael Manning.

'She was a loving and devoted mother of three children under the age of nine who was on her way to an alcohol rehabilitation facility to seek treatment,' Betsy Gotbaum, the victim's stepmother-in-law, said in a statement.

Carol Gotbaum 'appears to have been manhandled by the Phoenix Police Department,' said Betsy Gotbaum, New York's public advocate. 'She cried out for help at the airport, but her pleas appear to have been met by mistreatment.'

'We are not jumping to any conclusions, but the circumstances surrounding Carol's death appear to be unusual enough to raise serious questions and warrant a thorough investigation,' Gotbaum said.
Police spokesman Sgt. Andy Hill said officers checked on Carol Gotbaum regularly while she was detained. During one of the checks, officers found Gotbaum unconscious with her hands 'pressed against her neck area,' Hill said.

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