Life of Comfort and Pain Ends in an Airport Cell (Gotbaum's hatred of American cops)

New York Times ^ | 10/6/07 | ERIC KONIGSBERG

[LdSentinal]

A security guard said he heard her yelling about her hatred of “American cops.”

[the Real fifi]

Perhaps if she was so suicidal and depressed, someone should have accompanied her on this trip.

[MichiganMan]

Above all, through their lawyer, Michael C. Manning, they have contradicted the version of events described by the Phoenix police and indicated that Ms. Gotbaum’s death could have been avoided if officers had responded differently.

Of cour$e he ha$.

[SteveMcKing]

This woman, this family.... "Very Important People".

 

Not.

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

She was a psychotic alcoholic and she died from her alcoholic stupidity. Sad story for her children, family, and friends, but she was the captain of her out-of-control ship. No one is responsible for her demise but herself, regardless of what money grubbing lawyers say.

[Responsibility2nd]

So, the husband knew she was suicidal.

So, why did the family allow her to travel to rehab on her own?

Lots of blame to share here with lots of people. Her husband should have escorted her.

[MichiganMan]

She was a psychotic alcoholic and she died from her alcoholic stupidity. Sad story for her children, family, and friends, but she was the captain of her out-of-control ship. No one is responsible for her demise but herself, regardless of what money grubbing lawyers say.

I personally liked the "knowing" insinuations and outright accusations of my fellow freepers about the police and security officers involved in this woman's self inflicted death. Such experts also were prevalent around the time of the Virginia Tech shooting, throwing around talk that it was obviously a covered up terrorist attack. Funny how these bomb-throwers disappear back into their basements as details of the story get out.

[Sir_Ed]

I think the cops should have been monitoring her. She was panicky, upset and barely lucid, and they leave her alone, shacled to a bench, in handcuffs?

They arrested her, they had the responsibility to watch her.

Ed

[GovernmentShrinker]

No kidding. These relatives all knew she was a raging alcoholic and totally unstable, but sent her off on this trip alone anyway, and now they’re mad a police — who had no clue as to this woman’s background — because they left her unattended for a few minutes and she killed herself!

Sadly, I think her family is much better off without her. It’s rare for people to actually get their alcoholism under control after becoming this far gone, and even in those rare cases nearly always involves a series of relapses along the way. The three kids would just have been repeatedly traumatized if they’d grown up with their mother around. The family should grieve, have a funeral, and move on. Dwelling on building a legal and PR(!) case that it’s all the police officers’ fault that she died is counterproductive — won’t bring her back, and will delay the process of moving on.

[Responsibility2nd]

Well actually, the cops did break basic and fundamental rules about leaving a deranged suspect alone while cuffed.

Even a rookie should know better.

Having said this, I am neither excusing airport security and the cops nor defending them.

Just pointing out a major screw-up.

[SWAMPSNIPER]

No doubt, she should not have been left alone. The police certainly didn’t want this outcome, but they aren’t miracle workers.

[GovernmentShrinker]

They didn’t leave her alone for very long, and checked on her as soon as she went quiet. Frankly, there are much higher priorities for airport LEOs than babysitting self-destructive lunatics who are safely (for everybody else in the airport) cuffed and shackled in a holding cell.

[SuziQ]

These additional details don't make it sound any worse for the police than the original one did. It only cements the idea that Ms. Gotbaum had some real problems. Not only was her alcoholism a psychological problem, but the fact that she'd been drinking could also have triggered a physical one that her outburst didn't help.

There are witnesses to the situation, and I haven't seen one mention any sort of brutality or mistreatment by the officers. The family is having a hard time dealing with their loved one's death, but blaming the police isn't making them look any more wise in their decision to let her travel alone.

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

When police arrest drunks, they are shackled to benches to stay until they sober up. This happens thousands of time a day across the country and is SOP.

That said, I agree that this woman should have received standard monitoring. IMO, this wouldn’t mean minute by minute surveillance, and the story does not go into this aspect, but I would imagine that she did receive standard monitoring, and that she strangled herself anyway. Too bad, end of story.

[ccmay]

Doesn't sound like this is any great loss to anyone but her family, and one wonders about even that.

It would be a grave injustice if the citizens of Phoenix have to pay even one cent to this suicidal alcoholic dingbat's family.

-ccm

[Grizzled Bear]

Perhaps if she was so suicidal and depressed, someone should have accompanied her on this trip.

---

The sad fact of the matter could be that she was traveling alone because she drove everybody away.

[khnyny]

I see from your posts that compassion is not your strong point.

[srmorton]

Agreed. In her state of mind, she should never have been allowed to travel alone, especially with how frustrating air travel can be - even to those who are "normal". The airport security should not have left her alone, either. She did act inappropriately, but that should not have been a death sentence.

Many will say that it is all her fault for becoming an alcoholic in the first place and then for having a drink between flights in the second place. I am married to an alcoholic who is the son of an alcoholic, although I only became aware of that after we were married. If he has the opportunity to drink (unless it is during working hours), he can not seem to help himself or know when to stop drinking. I, on the other hand, enjoy a margarita or a glass of wine, but would probably not miss it if you said that I could never have another drop of alcohol as long as I live. Reece's pb cups are another matter. I would have much greater difficulty giving up them for the rest of my life than alcohol. My husband doesn't even like sweets!

[MichiganMan]

These additional details don't make it sound any worse for the police than the original one did.

That was my point. The original threads were peppered with statements and insinuations by freepers that the police murdered the woman. I find such reckless bomb throwing by the proverbial pajama'ed blogger in his basement, claiming superior insight to those actually at the scene, to be worth calling out when they're shown to be wrong.

[Godwin1]

A husband who loved his wife would not have permitted this obviously disturbed woman to travel half way across the country on her own. Having neglected her in life, the Gotbaums will now try to profit from her death. An appalling vista.