A powerful New York family today demanded $8 million from Phoenix for the death of family member Carol Anne Gotbaum (pictured), who died last year in police custody at Sky Harbor International Airport.
Within hours of the demand, however, the city and police department said they would not pay, setting the scene for a lawsuit that promises to drag on for quite some time.
The Gotbaum’s demand came in the form of a 197-page so-called notice of claim, which state law requires the family file before it can sue the city. Written by private attorney Michael Manning, it blamed Phoenix for the death of the woman, who was the stepdaughter-in-law of one of New York City’s top elected officials, Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum.
Carol Gotbaum died in custody Sept. 28 after she was shackled to a bench inside an airport holding cell. She was placed there after yelling and causing a scene in an airport terminal. Gotbaum somehow got tangled up in her shackles and strangled herself, reports show.
In its response (PDF), the city blamed the family for making a “media event” out of the death. “The police officers extracted from the City of Phoenix a promise – if the Gotbaum family publicly accused the officers of being responsible for Carol’s death, then the City would publicly defend the officers,” the unsigned response stated.
Gotbaum apparently had missed her connecting flight on her way from New York to an alcohol treatment facility in Tucson when she became irate.
“The City of Phoenix police officers responded with professionalism and restraint to a situation not of their making,” the city’s response said. “The claim by the Gotbaum family is denied. It is denied by the City of Phoenix. It is denied by the individual officers.”
Wow… no wonder Carol Gautbaum was so depressed! I can understand that her family is grieving and looking to blame someone for her death. They need to look no further than their own mirrors! They knew how desperately ill this woman was, yet they allowed her to travel alone!! I have several friends who are mental health professionals who are shocked at this family’s lack of support for someone they supposedly cared about. Were they too cheap to buy a plane ticket to accompany her? Were they just too tired of dealing with Carol’s problems to support her? Her death is definitely a tragedy, but the blame lies with Carol and with her family. How dare they try to find “solace” through the Phoenix taxpayers’ pockets! And how dare they place a potentially dangerous person on a flight by herself, endangering the other passengers. I am thankful to have a very loving, supportive family, and feel very sorry that Carol left the world feeling so alone…