Pomerantz Perlberger & Lewis LLP

The family of Carol Gotbaum, the woman who died in police custody in the Phoenix, Arizona airport on September 28, has filed an $8 million wrongful death claim against the police department. Gotbaum was traveling from Tuscon to New York to enter an alcohol rehabilitation center when she missed her flight, was unable to be seated on a following flight, and became enraged. When police attempted to escort her from the airport, she grew angry, and the police restrained and arrested her. According to witnesses, the police did this without attempting to calm her, and, according to the suit, used “excessive and unreasonable force” in doing so. When they arrested her, police put her in a holding cell, where they checked on her shortly after she stopped screaming. She was unconscious, having asphyxiated herself while trying to escape from her restraints. Despite the efforts of responders, Gotbaum could not be revived.

The family does not dispute that police should have been involved, only that the police followed to follow both their own procedures and common guidelines of judgment and compassion that could have prevented Gotbaum’s death. The claim states Gotbaum was treated “as if she was a dangerous criminal, rather than as a sick, intoxicated and vulnerable person.”

Police are granted the right to use force at all levels--including deadly force--with the understanding that they will practice superior judgment in deciding when to exercise that right. If you have lost someone you love as a result of the tragic over-response of government officials, including police or other state apparatchiki, contact the experienced wrongful death attorneys at Pomerantz, Perlberger, and Lewis, LLP today for a free initial consultation.