Oct 1, 2007 6:05 pm US/Eastern
Gotbaum: Daughter-In-Law 'Manhandled' By Police
NYC Public Advocate Questions Treatment Of Carol Gotbaum, Who Died While En Route To Alcohol Rehab
CBS 2's Lou Young contributed to this report.
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Carol Anne Gotbaum was found dead in a Phoenix airport holding cell.
CBS
Still grieving her daughter-in-law's untimely death, the public advocate has launched a blistering attack upon a police department thousands of miles away.
Betsy Gotbaum says she wants to know why Carol Anne Gotbaum died in a police holding cell at a Phoenix airport.
"Carol, who was only 5-foot-7 and 105 pounds, appears to have been manhandled by the Phoenix Police Department," Betsy Gotbaum said.
"She cried out for help at the airport, but her pleas appear to have been met by mistreatment."
At the same time the family revealed Gotbaum was headed to an alcohol rehabilitation center when the incident began Friday night.
On Monday, the Phoenix P.D. seemed to back-pedal from their initial report that Gotbaum strangled herself to death while struggling alone with her handcuffs.
"The Medical Examiner will have to be the one who rules on the cause of death," Phoenix Police Lt. Andy Hill said.
The incident began Friday night, when Gotbaum missed her flight from Phoenix's Sky Harbor Airport to Tucson. Police say she started yelling and screaming, and had to be wrestled to the ground and handcuffed.
She died soon afterwards when police noticed that things had become strangely quiet in her cell.
"This has been a horrible tragedy for my family, for my stepson and my three grandchildren," Betsy Gotbaum said.
Security consultant Patrick Brosnan is a former NYPD detective. He's mystified by assertions that a handcuffed woman could strangle herself.
"I've actually never heard of a documented case where this set of facts caused someone to die," Brosnan said.
As Brosnan demonstrated, it would be impossible for someone to pull her arms over her head from behind. More likely, she could have run her handcuffs under her feet.
"I dont have great range of motion, but it's extremely difficult," Brosnan said.
Gotbaum lived on a quiet, Upper West Side street, which is lined with trees and expensive brownstones. She lived on the street with her three children.
One neighbor says Gotbaum's case frightens her.
"I think we can all look and say this can happen to me," Jonna Espey said. "This is amazing. This is really frightening."
Gotbaum's family has now hired an attorney to monitor both the autopsy and the inquiry into her untimely death.
The Phoenix Medical Examiner is expected to rule on a cause of death as early as Tuesday.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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