OT: the full story of the crazy ny women

pico · 10-10-07, 01:44 PM

CNN) -- The husband of Carol Anne Gotbaum, the woman who died in police custody at the Phoenix, Arizona, airport, says a little kindness might have saved her life.

Video shows Carol Ann Gotbaum being arrested at a Phoenix airport shortly before she died while in custody.

1 of 3 "If the airline or the police authorities had treated Carol with some modicum of sensitivity and grace, or one single person at that airport had put an arm around her shoulder, sat her down and given her some protection, she might still be with us today," Noah Gotbaum said at her funeral Sunday in New York.

CNN obtained a recording of Noah Gotbaum's eulogy with the family's permission.

Carol Gotbaum died September 28 in a holding cell at Phoenix's Sky Harbor Airport. She apparently became angry after not being allowed to board a flight to Tucson, Arizona, and was arrested.

Surveillance video showed her resisting police who handcuffed her and dragged her away. Watch officers wrestle Gotbaum to the ground »

Authorities believe she strangled herself as she tried to maneuver out of handcuffs secured behind her back and attached to a bench in the holding cell.

The medical examiner who performed the autopsy went into the same holding cell where Gotbaum died and had officers handcuff and shackle her in the same position as Gotbaum, a source close to the investigation told CNN.

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The medical examiner's height and weight are similar to Gotbaum's, making the re-enactment worth doing, the source said.

Authorities said, following Gotbaum's death, that she might have been drinking, and an attorney retained by her family has said she was traveling to Tucson to check into an alcohol treatment center.

However, the source told CNN that Gotbaum was sober when she arrived in Phoenix, as she sent a series of e-mails and made some phone calls, sounding lucid.

But 46 minutes before the Tucson flight was scheduled to leave, Gotbaum went to an airport sports bar to get something to eat, and may have had some drinks there, the source said. She arrived at the gate one minute after boarding was closed, and was not allowed to board.

Although that upset her, the source said, she did not become irate -- as seen on an airport surveillance tape -- until she was not allowed to get on the next flight to Tucson.

The police report said a man offered to give up his seat on that flight for her, but officials told her he could not do that because it would be considered a security breach.

That may explain why witnesses and authorities said Gotbaum was screaming "I'm not a terrorist" at the time of her arrest.

SBR Lou · 10-10-07, 01:45 PM

1 minute late to the gate, and they wouldn't let her board? Are you serious? I may have went off on them myself, that's some bull.

SBR Lou · 10-10-07, 01:46 PM

Originally posted by picoman

i guess i could flip out too if this shit happened to me. man, US airlines sucks ass. oh well, nothing you can do. they could try to sue the airport, but she is at fault too...especially she has been drinking, so the ruling is not going in her favor.

So what if you had to take a leak at the last second, and you return to the gate one minute late, they aren't letting you on?

jjgold · 10-10-07, 01:47 PM

Her family will get about 100 Million easy

BatemanPatrickl · 10-10-07, 02:08 PM

It's all about getting what you want not being right; she was probably rude to the gate agents.

idontlikerocks · 10-10-07, 02:28 PM

these stories usually fade in the favor of the "victim". who's to say this woman's death is a loss? one less alcoholic driver, one less alcoholic mother , this could easily be society's gain

LargeMouthBass · 10-10-07, 03:35 PM

Didn't she go to a rehab program in AZ or something? I guess the rehab didn't work...

atakdog · 10-10-07, 06:08 PM

Originally posted by crazyl

So what if you had to take a leak at the last second, and you return to the gate one minute late, they aren't letting you on?

Which is as it should be. If you let people slide when they're a minute late, what about two minutes? Three? Five? They set a limit for a reason. The hundred-plus people waiting on the plane don't deserve to be delayed by someone who can't keep track of time.

(Yes, I also think one carry-on should mean one carry-on, must fit under your seat should mean must fit under your seat, board only when your row number is called should mean...)

I don't quite get why they wouldn't let her on the second plane -- it's a security breach to let someone who's already in the terminal get on a plane?

SBR Lou · 10-10-07, 06:27 PM

I hear you, but still the enforcement of the no tardy rule after a measly sixty seconds seems a little trivial. Sometimes you aren't sitting at a bar before boarding time, sometimes your connecting flight is late, and you're left running to your next gate in fear of missing your flight.

I'm positive I've been a minute late before, maybe I'm a friendly guy I don't know, but I've been let on when in all actuality I wasn't there the precise moment when they begin calling you to board.

LargeMouthBass · 10-10-07, 06:57 PM

Originally posted by crazyl

I hear you, but still the enforcement of the no tardy rule after a measly sixty seconds seems a little trivial. Sometimes you aren't sitting at a bar before boarding time, sometimes your connecting flight is late, and you're left running to your next gate in fear of missing your flight.

I'm positive I've been a minute late before, maybe I'm a friendly guy I don't know, but I've been let on when in all actuality I wasn't there the precise moment when they begin calling you to board.

crazyl, impressions matter, if you are friendly and ask nicely, I don't think they will give you a problem. But if you are a belligerent drunk, no one will take you seriously. There is nothing worse than a drunk in a public place being rude to everyone.

pico · 10-10-07, 09:34 PM

Originally posted by LargeMouthBass

crazyl, impressions matter, if you are friendly and ask nicely, I don't think they will give you a problem. But if you are a belligerent drunk, no one will take you seriously. There is nothing worse than a drunk in a public place being rude to everyone.

got that right. i hate mid aged drunk belligerent bitches. i bet most people think she deserved it.