( CNN ) -- The family of a woman who died last year while in police custody at Phoenix , Arizona 's , Sky Harbor International Airport filed an $ 8 million claim Wednesday against the city of Phoenix and its police department , the first step in filing a wrongful death suit . Carol Gotbaum , shown in an undated family photo , died accidentally , a medical examiner said . Carol Gotbaum , a 45-year-old mother of three from New York traveling to Tucson , Arizona , to enter an alcohol rehabilitation center , was taken into custody by Phoenix police on September 28 after she missed her connecting flight and flew into a rage . She was left alone in a holding cell at the airport and subsequently died , accidentally strangling herself while trying to escape her handcuffs . The claim accuses the Police Department of using `` excessive and unreasonable force '' on Gotbaum and failing to follow its own procedures in handling people who are obviously disturbed . `` Good people here made lethal , unreasonable mistakes , with catastrophic results for Carol , her three small children and for her husband , '' the claim says . Gotbaum was treated `` as if she was a dangerous criminal , rather than as a sick , intoxicated and vulnerable person she was , '' it says . `` She had no weapon and never threatened anyone . '' City attorneys responded to the claim , saying that police officers acted properly and responsibly in restraining Gotbaum . `` 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 , '' city attorneys representing the Police Department wrote . Gotbaum , the stepdaughter-in-law of New York public advocate Betsy Gotbaum , became agitated after missing her flight when gate agents were unable to seat her on a subsequent flight . Airport surveillance video shows Gotbaum 's arrest , with police officers struggling to handcuff her . Police reports say she was `` uncooperative '' and resisted arrest , screaming during their attempts to escort her out of the airport terminal . She was accused of disorderly conduct and placed in a holding cell at the airport , where she continued to scream for several minutes after police left the room . Shortly after she stopped screaming , an officer found her unconscious , and rescuers were unable to resuscitate her . The Maricopa County medical examiner ruled that her death was an accidental hanging . E-mail to a friend .
Police took Carol Gotbaum into custody after she missed a flight , flew into a rage . Accused of disorderly conduct , she was put in an airport holding cell , where she died . Claim says police used excessive , unreasonable force , disregarded own procedures . City says police officers acted properly and responsibly in restraining Gotbaum .