Not very likely

[RetiredGySgt]

The family's claims of abuse and such, while possible, simply are not likely. The woman was agitated and foolish. In her state of mind she could have tried anything.

I suspect even after an investigation that probably finds no fault, this family and it's lawyer WILL jump to conclusions. They already have, they just claim they are not.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071001/ap_on_re_us/airport_death

What is worse is the coming law suit will probably be settled out of court even though the cops probably did nothing wrong. Lawyers like this guy are good at figuring out how much is just enough to be less than a protracted legal battle or that insurance will pay.

 

[Diuretic]

This is going to sound a bit cold and clinical but I have to say it.

People die in custody. Sometimes they die as a result of police assaulting them and sometimes they die from other causes which are not directly the result of assault by police (or anyone else).

Police do not like killing people. Police do not like killing people in custody. Both actions tends to cause inquiries and from those inquiries police can find themselves imprisoned. Prison isn't a good place for an ex-cop. For those reasons I have to say that it's unlikely that police killed this woman.

Or it's unlikely that they killed her deliberately, as in murder.

It could be that they gave her a beating. That remains to be seen. The post-mortem examination/autopsy will reveal whether or not she was beaten. It will also reveal the cause of death (hopefully). When the cause of death is known then the inquiry will be in a better place than it is now.

Negligence by police can kill people in custody. When I say "negligence" I mean a range of responses or non-responses by police. Some former police practices are no longer used because of the danger they pose. The LAPD banned the carotid-artery hold ("choke hold") which was very useful. It works. But it's very risky and can cause death. It's not a good idea to use it now.

"Positional asphyxia" is another problem that has been identified. It's particularly dangerous when some is handcuffed behind their back and they are put in an unnatural position which makes it difficult for them to breathe. It's known and police practices have been altered to avoid it.

Police spokesman Sgt. Andy Hill said officers checked on Gotbaum regularly while she was detained. During one of the checks, officers found Gotbaum unconscious with her hands "pressed against her neck area," Hill said.

Is there cctv in the custodial facility? Is there a log of physical checks by officers on persons in custody? Are there SPOs for persons who are apparently mentally/physically unwell? If so, were they followed?

In a statement released later Monday, Hill said Gotbaum had been shackled to a bench as well as being handcuffed. The shackle's chain ran from an eyehook and the other was connected to the chain on Gotbaum's handcuffs

Uh-oh. How long was that chain? Why was she shackled? Is there a padded cell available?

"We're not going to jump to any conclusions without any evidence," he said. "We want to see what the autopsy reveals. We want to see what exactly happened to her."

That's wise.

 

[RetiredGySgt]

An update. Recall that the family and it's representatives have claimed they will wait for information before " making a decision" on what happened....

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071007/ap_on_re_us/airport_death

John Jakobson, another family friend, said Noah Gotbaum spoke of his wife's final moments during the service.

"Her husband said that if only one person in that airport had helped her she would be alive today," he said.

Yup that sounds like they are waiting alright. I suspect the only thing they are waiting on is a means to sue.

 

[Larkinn]

So you blame them for jumping to conclusions, and then you do so about their future actions?

Let them say whatever they want. They just had a family member die for fucks sake, they don't exactly need to be coldly calculating in their statements especially at her funeral.

 

[William Joyce]

You mean a family of **** lawyers from New York City is going to SUE?

Blow me down!

 

[AllieBaba]

They should never have left her unattended. Never. That's something only poorly trained (or outright stupid) officers do. Particularly since she may have been medicated or intoxicated.

She also could have aspirated, had a heart attack, or suffered a brain hemmorhage. Or hemmorhaged internally...all likely causes of death when someone has a substance abuse problem.

The bottom line is, she should never have been left alone.