Family seeks $8 million in airport death
The family of Carol Gotbaum, who died while in police custody at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, filed an $8 million claim Wednesday against the city of Phoenix and its police department, CNN reports. Gotbaum, a 45-year-old mother of three from New York traveling to Tucson, Arizona, to enter an alcohol rehabilitation center, was taken into custody by Phoenix police on September 28 after she missed her connecting flight and flew into a rage, according to the report. She accidentally strangled herself while trying to escape her handcuffs in a holding cell. The claim accuses the Police Department of using “excessive and unreasonable force” on Gotbaum. “Good people here made lethal, unreasonable mistakes, with catastrophic results for Carol, her three small children and for her husband,” the claim says. City attorneys said that police officers acted properly and responsibly in restraining Gotbaum.
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3 Responses to “Family seeks $8 million in airport death”
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Ok, lets get this straight!!!!
Someone misses their flight, goes into a rage and who knows who and what they are trying do. The police do their job and someone decides to try an escape and dies trying to escape. Please send regards to the family… TOO BAD!
Stupid People Do Stupid Things and Stupid Things Happen…
I have had enough with the boo ho’s with Stupid People…
The City of Phoenix, the police department and the airport authorities should countersue the family of Carol Gotbaum for allowing a physically, mentally and emotionally unstable person to travel unaccompanied. This was a tragedy looking for a place to happen. As a result, the police officers who responded appropriately to the situation, will be haunted by the uncertainly that their actions may have in any way contributed to her demise. The bottom line is that Carol Gotbaum killed herself - her behavior led directly to the unfortunate conclusion. My heart aches for her children. But I am having difficulty reserving judgment of the ‘loving’ family members whose inaction allowed this scenario to occur, and who are now busy pointing fingers at everyone else while visions of dollar signs dance through their heads. In a word - disgusting.
This is pathetic (but predictable). If her family, presumably familiar with her problem(s), didn’t feel she needed a minder to get the poor woman safely to her rehab, how are rational, careful, conscientous but uninformed strangers doing their duty to her and the gen’l public in any way negligent if they can’t predict a suicide by accident? Why don’t they sue themselves for negligently allowing her to go by herself? It really looks as if they were probably relieved she was going so far away and getting out of their airspace. I mean, there are rehab centers on the East coast, some quite good. Why didn’t her concerned family insist she go somewhere to rehabilitate closer to them? The answer to that is conjectural, but I have formed a conjecture.