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Family Calls for Investigation of
Death in Holding Cell SCOTT MICHELS A mother of three who mysteriously died in a Phoenix airport holding cell was on her way to an alcohol rehabilitation facility when she was arrested, her family said Monday. The family of Carol Anne Gotbaum, who was found dead in an airport holding cell Friday after her arrest on charges of disorderly conduct, also called for an investigation into her death. "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," said New York City Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, Carol's step-mother-in-law. "She cried out for help at the airport, but her pleas appear to have been met by mistreatment." Carol Anne Gotbaum was arrested Friday after witnesses said she was screaming and running through the Sky Harbor International Airport terminal after missing a flight.
She was taken to a holding cell with her hands cuffed behind her back, said Phoenix Police Sgt. Andy Hill. Minutes later, she was found unconscious with the handcuffs in front of her, "pressed up against her neck area," Hill said. Emergency workers were unable to revive her. Hill said it was possible that Gotbaum may have accidentally strangled herself while trying to escape from the handcuffs. But former law enforcement officers and police tactics trainers said it would be very unusual for that to happen. "I can't imagine anatomically how you could do that," said Roy Bedard, a former police officer who now trains officers in defense tactics, including how to use handcuffs and other restraints. "I have a hard time seeing how you could get tangled up in them." The cause of Gotbaum's death was not known and the Maricopa County Medical Examiner's office said it would perform an autopsy Monday. The Gotbaum family's lawyer, Michael Manning, told the Arizona Star that he would ask authorities to delay the autopsy until Tuesday so an independent pathologist could be present. Gotbaum, who weighed only 105 pounds, was on her way to an alcohol rehabilitation facility when she missed her plane, Betsy Gotbaum said Monday. She said that it appeared that her step-daughter-in-law had been "manhandled" by the Phoenix police. Manning said Gotbaum may have been in a "delicate" mental state Friday. He told The Associated Press the family had not decided whether it should file a lawsuit against Phoenix police. "We have strong concerns about how this 110-pound woman may have ended up strangling herself, given that she was cuffed behind her back and shackled to a bench," he said. Police policy requires officers to check on suspects in holding cells every 15 minutes, Hill said. Officers checked on Gotbaum after five or 10 minutes, he said. Garrett said it would be ideal to have cameras in the cells that could be constantly monitored, but did not fault police for checking on Gotbaum after a few minutes. Though the cause of her death remained a mystery, Hill said, "It appeared as though Ms. Gotbaum had possibly tried to manipulate the handcuffs from behind her to the front, got tangled up in the process, and they ended up around her neck area." But most people whose hands are restrained behind their backs try to slip their hands underneath their legs, said Brad Garrett, a former FBI agent. It is possible for people who are double jointed to move their arms above their heads, but even then, Bedard said, their arms would usually be extended and not near their necks. Garrett said it was too early to know exactly what happened, but that it would be strange for a person to accidentally choke to death on handcuffs. It would also be very difficult for someone to strangle themselves to death on purpose with the handcuffs, Garrett said. "If she did that, she's a very determined person," he said. Dorothy Dietrich, a magician and escape artist, said she also was not sure how someone could choke themselves to death while trying to escape from handcuffs. "That would be very hard to do," she said. Hill said he had heard of people moving arms from back to front around their head if "extremely agitated." Airport witnesses told police Friday that Gotbaum was "very loud & yelling and screaming and running around the concourse area," Hill said. An unidentified airport worker who witnessed the arrest told the New York Daily News that Gotbaum was screaming, "I'm not a terrorist! I'm a sick mom! I need help!" A police officer put his knee in Gotbaum's back to restrain her while other cops handcuffed her, one worker told the Daily News. The police did not use pepper spray or a Taser, Hill said. "I believe she was a little not there," the worker told the Daily News. "She kept punching. She kept screaming. She kept kicking. She looked really scared, really frightened. I think she was afraid to go to jail." Hill said Gotbaum continued screaming when she was put into the cell. He said police checked on Gotbaum after five or 10 minutes when she stopped screaming. They found her unconscious and not breathing.
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