Ex NFL Player Dies In Jail: Do Reform, Alabama Police Need To 'Reform'?

Former Saints player Glenn Foster was pronounced dead Monday at only 31 years of age. The circumstances surrounding his passing are still murky at this point. However, incoming reports indicate that he may have been in a scuffle in a jail cell at a Police Station in Reform, Alabama.

The former NFL player had not been formerly charged and processed, which makes the circumstances of his death even more unusual. Not that dying in a prison fight after being formally sentence to jail is common. By all accounts though this literally had to have taken place in the holding cells at the County Sheriff’s Office in the previously mentioned town in Alabama.

Local police indicate that the initial contact that they had with former Saints player Glenn Foster happened when police officers found him going over 90mph in a 45 mph zone. What followed was a dangerous chase around the area. In which law enforcement officials resorted to the use of spikes to blow out all 4 tires on Glenn Foster's car. Local police chief Richard Black commented on the events that lead to initial arrest saying,

“He drove on the wrong side, he ran a couple of cars off the road, but he ended up slowing down in kind of a rolling roadblock,”

By all accounts the initial arrest was justified. The local police records show that Foster was booked on counts of reckless endangerment, resisting arrest and attempting to elude police on Saturday.

Sunday, he was rebooked this time on counts of simple assault and robbery. Monday, while seemingly still in police custody it's rumored that the former Saints player got into a fight with another inmate at the station. Later that day he would be pronounced dead.

Foster's family members were made aware of the news yesterday. Both of his parents have made initial statements with his father Glenn Foster Sr claiming,

“We want justice for our son," he would add, “It’s unfair. It’s inhumane. It’s just not right.”

His mother also spoke out in the midst of the tragedy saying,

“I can’t get my son back, but we want whoever is responsible to pay for this.”

Meanwhile, local authorities have not commented on what actually happened inside the jail cell. Pointing out that at this moment in time there's an ongoing investigation into the case.

Former Saints player Glenn Foster played defensive end for the team in two seasons 2013, and 2014. He went undrafted in 2013, and made the Saints roster after a good performance in the pre-season with the team. After an injury riddled 2014 campaign he was let go by the team not coming back for the 2015 season. Foster who went to college in Illinois stayed in the New Orleans area after his playing days. He was a contractor at one point, and a real estate agent. He'd recently been involved in various business ventures after his career. Foster was diagnosed with bipolar disease and struggled through episodes of the illness in his adult life.