Posted on 09/30/2007 4:01:57 PM PDT by Lorianne
PHOENIX (AP) - 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. 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.
She sure would have been a lot better off just going with the flow and rolling with the punches.
Typical NYer.
Would there be any surveillance cameras for the holding room?
Her Houdini impersonation went terribly wrong.
Autopsy is Monday. It will be interesting to see the outcome.
Obnoxious New Yorkers don’t do that.
Can't tolerate that in a post 9/11 world..
What did she actually do? Not kowtow obsequiously enough to the 80 I.Q., overpaid, overweight TSA petty tyrant at the gate? TSA... the home for all those loonies who can’t pass the psych exam to get on the local police force.
There are some potentially fatal medical conditions that cause rage or agitation. Possible that the behavior is a result of what finally killed her. Autopsy will tell.
Apparently getting irate about the idiots that pretend to oversee airport security is a death penalty offense now.
Focus on a possible exploded aorta or a stroke via personal attitude.
not that a government security agent would ever do anything to justifiably anger a passenger......
i spent one summer at the national archives and by the time i left there i wanted to punch out one of their security guards—and i am a woman. these low level government entitlees often take their jobs way too seriously and use it as an opportunity to control people they otherwise would have no control over.
Officers handcuffed her and took her to the holding room, where she kept screaming
Heck, they rebooked her flight. She should have gone to the bar and had a large glass of chill the %$#@ out.
Why would a person have cuffs on while inside a holding cell? And how do cuffs get around a person’s neck when they are on the wrists?
There is more to this story than they are telling. In fact, I would go as far to say this story is a load of BS. Someone is telling some big fat lies to save their a$$.
She was traumatized enough even without it apparently.
Hitlery has nothing to do with this woman's demise for crying out loud!
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