Posted on 09/30/2007 4:49:59 PM PDT by Roberts
NEW YORK (AP) - A traveler who may have accidentally choked herself to death while handcuffed in an airport holding cell was a "wonderful" woman and mother, according to New York City's public advocate, who is her relative.
Carol Anne Gotbaum, 45, was arrested Friday at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix after she became irate when gate crews refused to let her board a flight for which she was late, officials said.
"She was a wonderful mother; she was sweet and kind and loving," said public advocate Betsy Gotbaum, the woman's stepmother-in-law. "It's obviously very, very difficult for us; we are dealing with it as best we can. My No. 1 focus is those children and my stepson."
She also pleaded with the press for privacy.
The events that led to Gotbaum's death began when she became irate over not being allowed on a US Airways flight, though she was rebooked on a later flight, officials said.
Officers handcuffed her and took her to the holding room, where she kept screaming, authorities said. They checked on her when she became quiet and found her unresponsive, said Phoenix police Sgt. Andy Hill.
It appears Gotbaum may have tried to get out of her handcuffs, which ended up around her neck, Hill said. A medical examiner will determine the cause of death.
Neither a stun gun nor pepper spray was used on the woman, authorities said.
The New York City public advocate helps solve residents' problems with government and acts as a watchdog over city agencies.
No need, her MIL is a lawyer.
Her stepmother is Betsy Gotbaum, the NYC Public Advocate for NYC. Betsy is a far-left Democrat and her husband is also a far-left Democrat and well known in political Democratic circles.
As the expression goes, the apples does not fall far from the tree, this Gotbaum was probably another liberal Democrat.
I wonder which way she was cuffed. Hands in the front of her or behind her back? Were they the plastic tie cuffs or regular ones...This is an odd story.
You handled that better than I would have. It amazes me how some people on here attack others first and ask questions later, if at all.
There is a lot more to this story than what has been revealed. Look for a scandal in the airport police agency. This family is well connected and very litigious. The Gotbaums are public advocates for NYC and they investigate the wrongs done to people by police, hospitals and other city government agencies. The airport police and the airline are in big trouble. Expect a huge settlement before it’s all over.
I hope the airline doesn’t dive head first into a settlement without first pursuing whether they actually have any culpability in this odd event.
I’m not sure what the circumstances surrounding Carol Gotbaum’s death, but I do know that in life she did donate to some very worthy causes:
http://www.ourmilitarykids.org/donate_and_volunteer/donors.html
******************
Our Military Kids, Inc. thanks the following for supporting its mission. These contributors ensure that children of deployed Reserve and National Guard receive the support and recognition they need and deserve during the period of their parents’ deployment.
-—Noah and Carol Gotbaum
*************
Perhaps when discussing the death of a person, we would do well to remember that they are people, capable of mistakes and beauties, and not merely objects of our derision. Somewhere, a deployed soldier’s child had a better life because of this woman.
I thank Carol Gotbaum for her care for our soldiers, and pray for peace for her family.
Hm. Jails have holding cells, now airports have holding cells. Do they have them in train stations, bus stations, other places? Where all do they have holding cells?
Follow and Obey Orders or you will find out just how many cells there are.
Hmmm.... I don't buy it.
The cat’s first reacion was Seinfeldian: Here goes your stereotypical post-modern post-feminist female. That’s a shame.
See http://cobrand.salon.com/health/feature/1999/09/29/excited_delirium/print.html
She could have just as easily been choking and trying to save herself.
She may have had some panic attack or was claustrophobic.
“Jails have holding cells, now airports have holding cells.”
They need ‘em for folks who are headed straight back where they came from.
IIRC, a Saudi imam who was prominent in the Culver City, CA (Los Angeles
area) “mega-mosque” went home to visit a bit a year or so after 9-11-01.
When he flew back to resume his religious duties (supposedly
pushing the Wahhabi line at the mosque), he was stopped at LAX,
held in a cell, then sent back to Saudi on the next plane with an
empty seat.
I wish we good read happy stories like that more often.
My guess- there was some kind of mental illness or drugs involved. Usually, in cases like this, the family is outraged- which doesn’t seem to be the case here.
Lots of strange in this story. I haven’t quite pictured how you could strangle yourself with any kind of cuffs front or back. If they hadn’t said something about the cuffs strangling her I would have speculated that she asphyxiated herself on phlegm from her outburst and couldn’t adequately cough it out because she was cuffed. A stretch but it makes more sense to me.
Sure I believe that?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.