Surveillance Video: Gotbaum's Last Moments At Phoenix Airport

WCBSTV ^ | October 5, 2007 | Andrew Kirtzman

[NonValueAdded]

They are her last moments on TV, therefore they are the last moments that matter.

Assuming there is no video from the holding area which is a very unlikely assumption. Sorry but I consider this SeeBS story a plant by the family. Further, it is "get it out there fast and raw with any old explanation" reporting. That is tabloid reporting, not journalism.

[Rocky]

"She got her cell phone, broke it on a couple of customers, hit hem, threw it on her," said the witness.

There used to be people called "editors" who would make corrections to the stories the reporters turned in. What ever happened to editors?

[CholeraJoe]

She shouldn’t have been left alone in a situation where she was able to harm herself or others.

Agreed, but unfortunately it happens in dozens of jails across the nation all the time.

if she was drunk it was most likely because a bar at the airport sold her the alcohol.

Very few people get drunk for free these days. Almost no one gets drunk against their will. Is it your assertion that if a drunk kills themselves or someone else, the seller of the alcohol is liable?

[BrotherJohn]

Given what we now know of the women’s problems and reason for travel, why on Earth did her husband, or another family member accompany her? She was heading to Rehab and drinking at the bar right before her flight, so much so that she missed the flight? Now they want to blame the police? Typical libs, take no responsibility for anything, then sue when something bad happens that they could have prevented with a little foresight and responsibility. I guess that’s asking too much from the liberal elites...

[Erik Latranyi]

Typical libs, take no responsibility for anything, then sue when something bad happens that they could have prevented with a little foresight and responsibility. I guess that’s asking too much from the liberal elites...

Isn't this something that has been obvious for years? Clinton was never responsible "the buck never got here", nor is any other liberal.

[toldyou]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1904335/posts?q=1&;page=1

[Erik Latranyi]

... and if she was drunk it was most likely because a bar at the airport sold her the alcohol.

There is an unconfirmed report that she had to re-enter through security and was so unstable that TSA gave her the extra pat-down treatment. This may indicate she left the airport to drink.

Regardless, she is solely responsible for what happened. Nobody else.

[dennisw]

This was a tragic accident but MOST of the blame is with the woman who could not control herself, AND HER oh so “concerned” family who let this unstable time bomb fly UNACCOMPANIED across the country.

From what I've read the family was not irresponsible. She was supposed to meet a friend at the phoenix airport who was going to shepard her the rest of the way. "Friend" did not show up. Then it seems Gotbaum had a liquid lunch, didn't hear announcements about her connecting flight, then showed up for her connecting flight after the doors had been shut on the airplane and airplane is ready to leave at any moment

I'm presuming her NY family put her on the airplane and left only after seeing her board. But I have not read this anywhere
So NY family was depending on this "friend" to take her the rest of the way

My take is not to blame her family so much.

[Erik Latranyi]

What is the point of your link to the original story about this?

This is additional news (the video) that deserves its own thread of discussion.

[MizSterious]

"he was always such a good kid...."

Exactly! It's almost a cliche around here (the Oklahoma City area): every time some gangbanger shoots or knifes someone, the mama appears on camera crying about what a "good boy" he really is. This week, it was a guy who actually opened fire on the police, and of course they shot back. But his family reviled the police and....you got it..."he was such a good kid!"

[toldyou]

All the updated news is on the last page of the existing thread, including the video!

[Mr Rogers]

It is 2 hours, perhaps a bit more depending in where in Tucson you are going. Traffic on I-10 is pretty heavy these days - it hasn’t been widened in over 30 years, and Arizona has grown a bit during that time.

[dennisw]

Yeah, me too. Drunks die in jail drunk tanks every day. Choke on their own vomit, hang themselves with their underwear, etc. What’s the hubbub, Bub?

The hubbub is that this happened to a Gotbaum. Very well known and connected NYC Democrat family. Victor headed up a labor union (garbage men I believe) and jousted with Mayor Lindsay (Linseed on Batman TV show) back in the day - 1966 or so

[Kozak]

I'm presuming her NY family put her on the airplane and left only after seeing her board. But I have not read this anywhere So NY family was depending on this "friend" to take her the rest of the way My take is not to blame her family so much.

Sorry, but I wouldn't send one of my family across town let alone across the country in this situation without KNOWING one of us was with them.

Also, shows how "committed" to rehab this woman was when she couldn't pass up a bar in the airport on her way to rehab. At some point personal responsibility has to be a factor as well.

[fatnotlazy]

And my other favorite — “he was starting to turn his life around.”

[Kozak]

She shouldn’t have been left alone in a situation where she was able to harm herself or others. This wasn’t some third-world backalley gin joint; this was a high-tech airport in the United States and if she was drunk it was most likely because a bar at the airport sold her the alcohol.

At any point does this woman not have any responsibility for her actions? Getting drunk, missing her flight, pitching a fit, resisting arrest, finally trying to Houdini out of her cuffs? Or did the rest of us have to wipe her a## for her as well the rest of her life?

[dennisw]

Been published her rehab was $42,000 per month. Not that her family paid full freight on this but for such expensive rehab maybe they should have done their part and taken her right to the door of the place

[CholeraJoe]

One wonders why someone from NYC has to fly all the way across the country for residential alcohol rehab? Despite all of the hype and all of the gymnastics, virtually every residential program in the country has the same long term sobriety rate - about 20%.

Despite almost everyone's belief to the contrary, residential alcohol rehab has not been proven more effective than any other type of program with strong emphasis on AA.

[WileyC]

This was a tragic accident but MOST of the blame is with the woman who could not control herself, AND HER oh so “concerned” family who let this unstable time bomb fly UNACCOMPANIED across the country.

It's not uncommon for drunks/addicts to go on one last binge before entering rehab. She was probably nervous as hell about the program and alcoholics turn to alcohol when they are emotionally distraught about anything. Her history of depression just made the situation worse.

I totally believe the suicide angle is the most likely possibility. Here she is, about to enter rehab, and is arrested by airport cops because she got on a binge on the way there and assaulted other people. She was mortified (in the classic sense of the word) by what people would think and couldn't face it.

[Kozak]

I work in Emergency Medicine, and about 80% of the people who show up in the ER to “get admitted for rehab” do it totally drunk or stoned. A significant number leave within 24 hours. You would not believe the millions upon millions of wasted healthcare dollars running these people through the mill over and over and over. I’ve seen people who have been “detoxed” in the hospital 3 or 4 time in a month.

Kaiser in California had the best answer. They only did outpatient rehab ( studies show NO long term diffence in outcomes, you don’t live in the hospital after all). If you showed up in the ER we took care of any medical issues, gave you a script for a couple of Librium to take the edge off, and gave them a referral to outpatient Rehab the next day, where they were told to show up SOBER and with a ride. If they were serious about getting straight they did, if they weren’t , too bad.