PHOENIX — A woman who died after being handcuffed and detained at the Phoenix airport was on her way to an alcohol rehabilitation program in Tucson, her family said yesterday, accusing police of manhandling her during the ordeal.

Carol Anne Gotbaum, 45, was late for a flight Friday and became angry when a gate crew didn’t let her on the plane. Officers handcuffed her behind her back and took her to a holding room, where she kept screaming, authorities said.

A Gotbaum family representative will be present at an autopsy tomorrow, their attorney, Michael Manning, said.

Carol Gotbaum “appears to have been manhandled by the Phoenix Police Department,” Ms. Gotbaum, New York City’s public advocate, said. “She cried out for help at the airport, but her pleas appear to have been met by mistreatment.”

“We are not jumping to any conclusions, but the circumstances surrounding Carol’s death appear to be unusual enough to raise serious questions and warrant a thorough investigation,” Betsy Gotbaum said.

A 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,” Mr. Hill said. In a statement released yesterday, Mr. 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.