If true, shame on her, not the security people. There was something else much bigger going on with her then just missing that flight.

Not that she deserved to die, but she did to be detained until she calmed down.

How in the hell can handcuffs get stuck around your neck when you have them on?!?! I smell coverup.

NYCers might find it interesting that she is the daughter-in-law of Betsy Gotbaum, the NYC Public Advocate.

Wow how awful.

So she caused a scene was handcuffed and detained and then strangled herself? These events seem to be mostly her fault, but I see a lawsuit from the family in the near future as that is pretty much how this country works.

If that's the case, she probably thought she as too important to be inconvenienced by having to wait for a later flight.

To anyone saying this is the victim's fault:

Please tell me how someone strangles themself with their hands bound BEHIND them?

Dreadful story, but what was going on with the freakout even after she was rebooked? At least she wasn't stranded.

@ancientsociety: I wonder the same. Did they put her hands in front instead?

I guess you can blame the victim even if they're mentally ill and dead.

Too many details were left out of this article to make any conclusions at this point. I would say we should wait for further information like the particular style of cuffs used, the manner in which she was cuffed, and, probably most importantly, the medical examiner's report. Hell, for all we know, she was on some vital medication for a condition that was exacerbated by her agitation.

Handcuffed with hands in front or behind, I still can't see how someone can contort such that the wrists and handcuffs actually go "around the neck" such that they choke themselves.

I think there is something being miscommunicated here. I don't mean to imply that she was choked and then left in the cell and "oops" found dead later, but maybe something like... the cuffs were in back and she tried 'stepping through' the cuffs to get her hands in front, but got bound up and then compressed her rib cage or something, so she couldn't breathe.

I want to see a follow up, though. I've never heard of someone handcuffed strangling themelves with the cuffs before.

Wow....she ran up and down the gate area...big whoop. Maybe we should detain babies too.

Maricopa County, huh? That's where that crazy sheriff has those tent city jails, and a few bad apple cops are always screwing things up. Google maricopa sheriff mistake.

I smell a coverup. This article reads like a press release from the cops that negligently let her die. 'Prolly Maricopa's "Communications Posse". I kid you not, that is the name of the Sheriff's communication organization.

Crooked, backwards, keystone cops.

I'm with IRISTHEROOTOFALLEVIL. Heaven forbid someone should run in an airport.

We don't have enough information to blame this on the passenger.

It seems like this woman had some issues, possibly mentally ill and shouldn't have been left in a "holding room" unsupervised. And they left her unsupervised even though she was continuing to be irate. If she committed a crime, she should have been taken somewhere where she could at least be supervised.

Sounds like a wrongful death case to me.

@IRSistherootofallevil: DITTO. I think someone took their "job" of keeping the inmates (read passengers) in line too seriously and someone died... if "running up and down" was the best they could come up with after the fact she died then there must be more to this.

I really can't imagine how a handcuffed woman could end up strangling herself with the handcuffs. This is really really odd.

Another TSA Screwup? This time it cost someone their life.

Pointing out that someone was a willing actor in their own demise isn't "blaming the victim". It's "stating the facts."

@5h17h34d: Not a TSA screw-up. A someone who felt they were entitled to have the entire world stop for them running around and screaming like a lunatic screwup.

Has anyone here traveled recently?

I had Delta ticket agents making me want to scream after having them make me miss my flight to Rome recently. Their incompetence caused me to miss my subsequent connection to the island of Sardinia, force me to get a hotel room for the night and then pay a premium to rebook my tickets to Sardinia.

Until we can get a Travelers Bill of Rights passed as a law, these kinds of frustration reactions are going to occur.

Reminds me of that guy who got hurt in prison after he accidentally sat on a plunger.

For what it's worth, people that are detained in a holding room at an airport are usually dealing with the airport police, not the TSA (at least at MSP Airport). And, I could think of one way she could've choked herself with the cuffs behind, but i seriously doubt she'd dislocate her shoulder for it.

there is no freaking way you can choke yourself while handcuffed front OR back without either

1) force-ably choking yourself if the handcuffs are on the front, basically committing suicide or

2) physically dislocating your ARM, something so painful I dont want to even think about it.

This is a cover-up plain and simple.

Most police departments' procedures do not allow prisoners to be left unattended while handcuffed.

It is a known and serious risk that handcuffed persons have a diminished ability to provide for their own safety, and are at risk both of hurting themselves and of potentially suffering from positional asphyxiation.

There may be more to this then we've heard so far, but we've already heard more than many might realize.

What kind od security is it?

A handcuffed person should NEVER be left out of sight! That is simply dangerous for a lot of reasons : medical, safety, etc.

How incompetent security is in airports?
And they protect public from terrorists? By gross negligence?

Even in small Canadian airports, the policy is TWO officers have to keep an eye on a handcuffed person. Imagine if the the passenger has a panic attack, or a heart attack?

I smell a lawsuit $$$, and someone will be definitely fired in the process.

As a Phoenix resident I'm not surprised it happened at Sky Harbor or that the Maricopa boys could be behind it. Come on, what type of cops do you expect when they have recruitment bumper stickers telling the city how desperate they are for staff?

I agree with the previous posters the cops and the airport should be taken down a notch for their incompetence. Unfortunately, our screwed up system will likely reward those in charge for taking care of a "dangerous" passenger.

This is a very strange set of circumstances, I would not say she simply strangled herself with handcuffs on by accident as the article and I guess the police dept implied (after all who is providing the "facts" to the news right? the cops of course)

Anyhow, I think it's probably more likely that she may have been trying to get out of the handcuffs and may have pulled something on her clothing, e.g. scarf or something that strangled her.

In this event it is clearly the police's fault because they are trained to remove any objects on someone who is going into a holding cell that could be used as either a weapon or something kill oneself with like belts, shoelaces, scarves, etc... About the only thing you can go into a holding cell with is shirt, pants, socks and underwear. So if something like that occurred then it's the cops' fault for not following proper procedures/policies.

On the other hand, possibly she worked herself up into some sort of frenzy that caused some type of shock? Kind of like the bee allergy thing but not necessarily an allergy? This woman does seem to be a bit deranged to cause herself to get arrested afterall.

A very bizarre set of circumstances, and yeah I can see a lawsuit vs the airline, the cops, the airport and more or less anyone else that was remotely involved.

What a mess.

Crazy sheriff??? Not Joe "The biggest media whore in America" Arpaio. All I can say is if in Maricopa go ahead and kill a person it's not a big deal, but god forbid you kill a dog.

Sounds like a wrongful death lawsuit is in the cards for that idiot Maricopa county Sheriffs' dept... I'm sure this woman was disturbed and problematic, but come on!

@Zanpakuto: And CLEARLY none of the woman's fault for a) getting herself in cuffs and b)trying to get out of said cuffs. Poor, innocent thing...

You know regardless of whether you are right or wrong in this.. why do so many people feel compelled to jump to a conclusion?

Right now you know that someone who created a scene and refused to cooperate with authorities in an airport then died in a holding cell. Until you know more don't you think it's wise to wait for more information? Do you just blindly assume anyone who tells you anything is lying? How do you get through the day?

Once you know the facts, then start with your derisive comments, etc. That is unless you are some almighty being who knows all.

[www.thekansascitychannel.com]
includes video interview of a couple witnesses who verify that she was running around screaming, and apparently was asked to calm down, and finally arrested when she wouldn't calm down.

@LTS!: because victim bashing in en vogue and oh so much fun!

Impossible to strangle one self if handcuffed properly. if from the back, your arms can't go up, you pull them under you around your legs which can be difficult. if the front, it is also difficult as you hve to wrap your hands for an air choke, not blood since its not strong enough, and one will pass out before they can lethally strangulate themselves

Hard to tell what happened from the information available, though it seems that over the past twenty years, a not-insignificant number of Phoenix PD and Maricopa SD detainees have met their demise via "asphyxiation."

Causing a scene in an airport is enough to get you handcuffed? Good thing she didn't get through security with more than 3 ounces of liquid!
More Fatherland security/TSA goodness!!!
Oh, and it's the victim's fault (this is the Consumerist comment area after all).

So its hitting the news all over now, and they are again stating the woman was handcuffed with her hands behind her back, and "somehow" got them around her neck which I am sorry is just not possibly without severely hurting yourself in the prosses bad enough to make you stop.

They are also refusing to release any details of how it happened, even to her mother WHOOOOOOO.... happens to be noted advocate Betsy Gotbaum.

This one is going to get REAAAALY messy.

I found a couple of articles that say her hands were cuffed behind her back, which is how I think they usually do it.

Also, airport workers described her as "really scared, really frightened" and "a little not-there" and reported her saying "I'm not a terrorist! I'm a sick mom! I need help!"

I'm wondering if she might not have had a panic attack of some kind, though there's no indication of a psych history just yet.

(a recent article)

Yup. Self-ownage by freak out. What's the over/under on days before the lawsuit is filed?

...That pretty much does it- no more US Airways for me. I'd rather take a foreign airline for otherwise-domestic flights and deal with Customs than risk that.

Only on Consumerist is this an innocent victim:

"I believe she was a little not-there. She kept punching. She kept screaming. She kept kicking," one worker told The News."

Nope, sorry. Not going to say she had it coming to her by any stretch but she was the main actor in her own demise.

lies.

Well... She started out alive, did this "kicking and screaming", and then was put into a holding cell. She ended up dead. It certainly wasn't the kicking and screaming that did it, else she'd have been dead before she went into the holding cell. Maybe she wasn't entirely innocent, but she was by no means the "main actor"- at least, not without knowing who or what else was in (or entered/exited) the holding cell with her. I think one of my main factors for choosing a university is going to be an easily-accessible train station.

... because I sure don't want to be with a domestic airline after all these incidents.

@IRSistherootofallevil: i'd fly a lot more if they detained babies. i'm just saying...

Q: How many Maricopa cops does it take to throw a passenger down a flight of stairs?

A: None; she fell.

as far as the death goes. who knows. as far as the arrest. 100% justified from the details above. late too bad everyone else shouldn't wait. They rebooked her next flight best that can be done.

I think the airlines need to start doing more of a harsh cutoff. there is a reason for lots of delays and one of them is late people. My last 3 of 4 flights all had to sit and do 3 rounds of calls for people. If you aren't ready to board be ready to wait for the next flight with an open seat.

This is one case where i hope that airline and airport are sued to the point of economic collapse.

It was probably the airline's and/or airport's fault she was late anyway, such as lack of parking, slow security, a late connection, etc.