vagabond

Holy Smokes! What is this world coming to?

From Associated Press:
PHOENIX - A woman late to her plane became irate, was put in handcuffs and was later found dead in a holding cell, police said. Authorities were investigating Saturday if the woman choked herself while trying to get free from the handcuffs.

Carol Ann Gotbaum, 45, of New York, was arrested Friday at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport after a conflict with gate crews who refused to allow her to board a plane, said Sgt. Andy Hill, a Phoenix police spokesman.

The airline said the plane was already preparing to depart. She was rebooked on the next flight, but “she became extremely irate, apparently running up and down the gate area,” US Airways spokesman Derek Hanna said Saturday.
Officers handcuffed her and took her to the holding room, where she kept screaming, authorities said. Hill said officers checked on her when she stopped screaming and found her unresponsive.

Hill said it appears Gotbaum may have tried to get out of her handcuffs, became tangled in the process and the cuffs ended up around her neck. A cause of death will be determined by the Maricopa County Medical Examiner.

“She was very agitated and irate and angry,” Hill said. “These are the things that led to the disorderly conduct arrest.”

Authorities said neither a Taser nor pepper spray was used on the woman.

FlyerJosh

That's called cleansing of the gene pool. The only thing that I'm sorry about is that her family will probably now receive a large settlement from the Phoenix airport, USAirways, the police department, Maricopa County, the company that manufactured the handcuffs, and who knows who...

I'm willing to bet that either alcohol or a lack of medication was involved.

Pilatapus

Probably Cessna or Piper maybe Boeing even though she was going to fly in an Airbus. Aircraft makers are such easy prey for lawsuits.

mike734

How do you live with yourself? God forbid something tragic like this never happens to someone in your family.

Planespotta

You'll never be able to eliminate irrationality, retardation, mental deficiencies, etc. from the gene pool, so I wouldn't waste my time worrying about it.

dhc8fo

Thankfully, I don't have people that STUPID in my family (that I am aware of)so I live quite well with myself and agree with the previous statement as well. I am constantly amazed at how retarded people can be.

mike734

I'm not sure you realize this but fully half the worlds population is not as smart as you. What should we do with them? The median IQ is 100. I guess you are probably somewhat above that. The fact is, a great deal of the world is not as smart, not as capable and not as motivated as you. What should we do with them? Do we (as a society) have patience with them or do we taser them and lock um up?

Everyone can lose their temper. Our airline transportation system makes losing one's temper quite easy these days. Maybe we should give the cops more power. Mouth off to a CSA, go to jail. Question a flight attendant's request, get kicked off the flight and talk to the cops. It's not a type of society in which I want to live.

ILS37R

Not sure which of us qualifies as Devil's Advocate in this case, but someone should be held accountable for an irate person becoming a dead person. Granted, it was almost certainly an accident, but if the procedures in place allowed someone to be unmonitored in a holding cell long enough to kill herself, those procedures need to be re-examined.

vagabond

Let me put on my judicial hat and ask everyone to hold off a bit on the speculation. The "evidence" so far contained in the news article is not nearly enough to make a judgment. All we know is that the woman was screaming one minute and quiet the next. She was found apparently with her neck tangled up with the handcuffs. There are a number of rational explanations for this, but until we get something more definitive from the postmortem, we really do not know. For example, do we know that she was alone the entire time? Do we know if she has any pre-existing medical or mental condition? Do we know what chemicals are or are not in her bloodstream? Do we know if there was not something wrong with the handcuffs or the way they were put on her? I have more questions, but you get the point.

trunk junk

I have an aunt with a medical (mental) condition that could cause her to do something like that. She is one of the nicest,carring and most helpful people I know but off her meds I can imagine her getting seriously aggrivated. Josh would probably smile if he found out she died as to stop poluting the earth, being an undesirable and all.

Whatever the evidence shows about this case I cant belive how many angry vindictive people there are that want to see capital punishment for any misbehavior like the case of that girl with that backpack "bomb". I wonder if they would feel that way if this was one of thier family members.