PHOENIX -- The family of a New York woman who died in police custody at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in September has filed a claim against the city, the first step in filing a wrongful death suit.
The claim was immediately rejected by the city in a letter to lawyers for the family of Carol Anne Gotbaum, who died Sept. 28 in a police holding cell at the airport after being arrested for disorderly conduct.
She was on her way from New York to enter an alcohol treatment center in Tucson.
The claim, the legally require precursor to a lawsuit, seeks $8 million for Gotbaum's husband Noah, her three children and her estate.
"On that day, members of the Phoenix Police Department used excessive and unreasonable force on Carol, as if she was a dangerous criminal, rather than as the sick, intoxicated, and vulnerable person she was," the claim states.
Gotbaum family attorney Michael Manning went on to write that police erred by putting her alone and shackled in a holding room.
"In the process, they ignored the warning signs that their own policies, procedures and training materials told them could result in Carol's death," Manning write.
Autopsy: Asphyxia By Hanging Caused DeathThe official cause of death as determined by the medical examiner was asphyxia by hanging in the holding room.
At least two of the drugs found in Gotbaum were antidepressants, and the autopsy report said she had a history of "use of antidepressant medications with intoxication."
The medical examiner reported that Gotbaum had approximately 35 bruises on her neck, arms and legs, including her knees and elbows, and scrapes.
Police have said they had used a chain to link the handcuffs to a bolt fastened to a bench in the detention room but the autopsy report said the officer who found Gotbaum unconscious wasn't able to recall the chain's exact position at that point.
The report shows Gotbaum was found unresponsive in the holding cell with handcuffs near her neck area.
Authorities said all along that Gotbaum may have accidentally strangled herself. Police have said they followed proper procedures when dealing with her.
"The Phoenix Police Department believes the medical examiner findings substantiate that Phoenix police officers acted appropriately and there was no misconduct during this tragic incident," officials said at the time.
City Fires Back In LetterWednesday's letter from the city's legal department to Manning said the claim that police should have responded differently was wrong.
"The thrust of the Gotbaum family claim is that the City of Phoenix police officers should have been more supportive than Carol's own husband, more knowledgeable than her own family, and should somehow have known that she suffered from a private condition that she deliberately hid from the public," said the letter signed by the city's Stephen Craig.
"But the Gotbaum family has publicly admitted, not only that Carol hid her medical and mental condition, but that the officers responded to Carol exactly the way her husband knew they would respond because they did not have critical information known only to the Gotbaum family," the letter continued.
Police: Officers Were JustifiedThe Phoenix Police Department will likely refuse settling in any way.
"The promise that was made to the police officers involved by the city legal unit when this all began was if those actions by those officers were justified and were professional, that they would go to the furthest extent possible to protect those officers," said Sgt. Andy Hill of Phoenix police on Wednesday. "That is what's happening today."
"We deeply respect the family and the loss they feel," Hill said at a news briefing.
"However, things are what they are. The facts are as they occurred. The officers had no idea what the condition was of Ms. Gotbaum. They had no idea about her medical history, her prior history," said Sgt. Andy Hill, a Phoenix police spokesman
The city letter included transcripts of phone calls Noah Gotbaum made to the airport the afternoon of his wife's death, telling officials he was concerned about her whereabouts because she was depressed and suicidal.
Noah Gotbaum is the son of New York City Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum.
ELSEWHERE ON KPHO.COM: A federal judge has barred "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis from attending an adult industry conference this weekend in Phoenix. CLICK HERE for details.MORE SLIDESHOWS: From the bizarre to the tragic to late-breaking news, visit the KPHO.com slideshow section and click away! CLICK HERE for images.Copyright 2008 by KPHO.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
'Police Used Excessive Force,' Claim Says Of Airport Death
