Photo Courtesy of Wilfredo Lee/AP
On December 6, former New Orleans Saints player Glenn Foster Jr. died while in police custody in Northport, Alabama, after a high-speed chase that got him arrested.
According to the Associated Press, the NFL player died at a medical facility, the Associated Press reported.
While he was being arrested, Foster fought off a Pickens County deputy and a correctional officer and ended up injuring the deputy, according to court records obtained by the outlet.
Pickens County District Judge Samuel Junkin stated that Foster attended an initial court date where he was “non-compliant and refused to respond to answer any questions” aside from asking for an attorney.
The judge ruled for Foster to be held without bond for a mental evaluation after noting his behavior while in custody and stated that he was “not mentally stable and a danger to himself and others.”
However, there were no details from that point until his death.
Foster’s family is afraid their son was mistreated while in police custody. According to The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate, his
parents said they fear their son might not have received proper care and that he may have been suffering from a mental health crisis while in custody.“I can’t get my son back, but we want whoever is responsible to pay for this,” his mother, Sabrina Foster, said.
At the time of his arrest, Foster was driving at 90 mph. After the high-speed chase, officers used a “spike strip” to flatten all four of his tires, and he eventually crashed into a business.
Foster was arrested with charges of reckless endangerment, resisting arrest, and attempting to elude police.
No cause of death has been released as of yet.
The former football player is originally from Chicago, was living in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Foster had reportedly been diagnosed with bipolar disorder in his early 20’s but had it under control before his arrest, according to his father, Glenn Foster Sr.,