The three children of Carol Anne Gotbaum, the New York woman who accidentally strangled herself while in custody in Phoenix after an airport outburst, will receive $250,000 under a proposed settlement, a source close to the case said.
The $250,000 figure -- which still requires the approval of a New York court -- is much less than the $5.5 million legal claim that Gotbaum's estate and kids originally filed against the city of Phoenix, its police department and officers involved in arresting her in September 2007 in the city's airport.
The 45-year-old Gotbaum -- the stepdaughter-in-law of New York City Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum -- had flown to Phoenix on her way to enter an alcohol-rehab center in Tucson.
CAROL GOTBAUM Died in police custody.
Gotbaum began drinking heavily at an airport bar after missing a connecting flight and became extremely upset after being bumped from a later one. She dropped to the floor and threw her Blackberry before running along the concourse and yelling that she was "not a terrorist," court papers state.
Police at the airport confronted her, slapped handcuffs on her and took her to a holding cell.
While in that cell -- unobserved by officers -- Gotbaum accidentally strangled herself while twisting her body.
Arizona prosecutors decided that police broke no laws.
But Gotbaum's estate and her three children -- Ella, Nathaniel and Tobias, all under the age of 10 -- last year filed a suit claiming the cops had been negligent and violated Gotbaum's constitutional rights by arresting her.
Sealed petitions seeking approval for the settlement were filed Oct. 9 in New York Surrogate's Court, which needs to OK the deal because Gotbaum's children are minors, the source said.
Lawyers for the city of Phoenix, the police department and police officers did not respond to requests for comment.
Without the forceful presence of Carol Anne Gotbaum's influential family, the $250,000 settlement announced Monday likely would have merited little attention.
But the Gotbaums of New York, with their many media connections, had sought to create a story line about Carol's sad fate. They wanted to point fingers at reckless and "beefy" Phoenix cops. They tried creating caricatures.
And, no doubt racked with guilt, they wanted to point fingers away from themselves for allowing an emotionally unstable, alcoholic woman to travel alone across the continent. OAS_AD('ArticleFlex_1')
Well, the Gotbaums got their story line in the New York press for a time. But, now, they get its unpleasant denouement as well: a settlement that is but a fraction of the $8 million they originally sought. In the jargon of insurance companies, the Gotbaums settled for nuisance-suit money.
Distraught, tortured by depression, prescription drugs and alcohol, Gotbaum broke down emotionally in Terminal 4 of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on Sept. 28, 2007, while on her way to a rehabilitation facility in Tucson. She was arrested, led away to an airport holding facility where she was chained to a seat and left alone to calm down.
By Phoenix police estimates, Gotbaum was alone in the holding tank for eight minutes when she was discovered entangled in her chain. Despite desperate efforts by police to revive her, the mother of three young children died.
Back in New York City, the Gotbaums did what they could to cast Carol Anne's death as the responsibility of others. Until Monday, one could reasonably conclude they succeeded to a degree. Now, the settlement strongly suggests something more in line with the reality of events.
Like her life, the circumstances of Gotbaum's death were tragic and complex, with fingers of responsibility pointing off in countless directions.
