Mother of Three Dies After Being Detained at Phoenix Airport

Filed in archive Aviation Travel on October 1, 2007

A woman died at the Phoenix Airport on Monday after she was detained and handcuffed by police. According to published reports, the 45-year old and mother of three, Carol Anne Gotbaum was traveling through Phoenix on her way to rehab in Tucson.

Allegedly, Gotbaum was "manhandled" by the Phoenix Police Department. She was cuffed behind her back and shackled to a bench. However, the police are maintaining they followed proper procedure. The family is considering a lawsuit against the police department. An autopsy is scheduled for tomorrow.

"We are not jumping to any conclusions, but the circumstances surrounding Carol's death appear to be unusual enough to raise serious questions and warrant a thorough investigation," Betsy Gotbaum said.

Police spokesman Sgt. Andy Hill said officers checked on Gotbaum regularly while she was detained. During one of the checks, officers found Gotbaum unconscious with her hands "pressed against her neck area," Hill said.

In a statement released later Monday, Hill said Gotbaum had been shackled to a bench as well as being handcuffed. The shackle's chain ran from an eyehook and the other was connected to the chain on Gotbaum's handcuffs.

Hill said officers followed established policy while detaining Carol Gotbaum. He added that police procedures for arresting someone at the airport haven't changed since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

"Everything, so far that we know, is according to policy," Hill said.

Manning, who was hired by Gotbaum's family to monitor the police investigation, said it doesn't seem possible she could have killed herself.

"It doesn't make any sense," he said. "She was handcuffed behind her back and shackled to a table. It doesn't make sense that she could have physically managed to strangle herself."

Manning, a high-profile lawyer who represented the government against failed savings and loan executive Charles Keating, has previously won settlements against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio in wrongful-death lawsuits.