Glenn Foster's Family Reveals Former NFL Player's Mental Illness Past After Jail Death

More details have emerged regarding the death of former New Orleans Saints defensive lineman Glenn Foster Jr., who died Monday in an Alabama jail.

While many large questions loom surrounding his passing, authorities and family members have talked about a high-speed police chase resulting in a crash before his arrest, a jail fight that required ambulance assistance and a diagnosis for bipolar disorder years ago.

Foster's death at the age of 31 remains under investigation, with an autopsy pending and no cause of death immediately available. Alabama's State Bureau of Investigation has thus far only confirmed it is investigating the case as an in-custody death.

However, family members have spoken to local news outlets, and Chief Richard Black, who heads the Reform Police Department in Alabama, provided a statement to Newsweek. It was officers from Black's department who clocked Foster driving his Jeep Wrangler at 92 miles per hour on radar in a 45 mph zone late Friday.

A high-speed chase ensued as vehicles raced through a neighboring town, where another police force provided help, according to Black. Foster drove on the wrong side of the road, causing cars to be forced off the road, before the chase ended when police placed a spike strip across the road that flattened Foster's tires. Black said the vehicle veered into a parking lot before crashing into a metal railing.

The police chief's statement said, "Foster exited the vehicle but failed to comply with putting his hands behind his back as an attempt to detain him was underway. Foster was placed on the ground and handcuffed."

An ambulance arrived to assess Foster's condition before he was transported to the Pickens County Jail. There, after 12 a.m., the former Saints player was booked on three counts of reckless endangerment, attempting to elude police and resisting arrest. He was also issued traffic citations for speeding, driving while suspended and driving on the wrong side of the road.

Authorities were reportedly worried about Foster's behavior and arranged for his family to bail him out of jail so he could seek treatment at a Birmingham hospital. Glenn Foster Sr. told NOLA.com that his son was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when he was about 20, noting he had been able to manage the illness.

The family and the police chief arrived on Sunday so Foster's bail could be paid and he could be sent to the hospital. "We went to bond him out and something happened at the jail and they wouldn't let us get him," Black told NOLA.com.

Foster Sr. told the news outlet that he had seen an ambulance pull up at the jail. He said he was told the ambulance wasn't for his son but because his son had been in a fight with another detainee and two guards.

Black said he informed Foster's family that he would not be released to the Reform Police Department. Black's statement said he gave the family contact information for the Pickens County sheriff.

Following Black's conversation with family members, the "Reform Police Department had no further contact with Foster and he was in the custody of the Pickens County Sheriff's Office," according to Black.

Records show Foster was booked on an additional three felony counts of assault and one of third-degree battery on Sunday, and those charges kept him in custody before he died on Monday.

Foster Sr. said he was told that sheriff's deputies on Monday drove his son in a patrol cruiser to a hospital about a half-hour away from the jail, where he was told his son was pronounced dead.

The family believes officials could have possibly delayed life-saving care for Foster, who may have been experiencing a mental health episode while in custody.

The Daily Beast spoke with Foster's mother, Sabrina Foster, on late Tuesday. She said her son had "died in custody after being denied medical treatment" by local law enforcement.

"We asked them for him to have medical treatment, and they denied him for two days. I told them he has not eaten or [had] water and his organs could shut down, and they didn't seem concerned," she told the website.

Newsweek contacted the Pickens County Sheriff's Office for comment but did not hear back in time for publication. Newsweek also attempted to contact Foster's family.