REFORM, Ala. — The family of former Saints defensive end Glenn Foster Jr. has retained prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump after Foster died in police custody earlier this week.
Crump famously represented the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Trayvon Martin among others.
Foster died in Alabama on Monday following a high-speed police chase culminating in a crash, a jail fight with another detainee that drew two guards into the fray and, finally, a desperate but futile effort to get medical help, according to interviews with authorities and his relatives.
Foster, who was balancing a decade-old bipolar diagnosis while forging careers in the NFL and as a business owner in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, was 31. His death came two days after police in Reform, Alabama, arrested him and turned him over to the custody of a local sheriff’s office.
Crump said that he would not let police use Foster's NFL size to justify his death.
"The fact is that he was subdued in handcuffs and posed no risk. There is no reason why he was alive in police custody and sixteen minutes later he was dead," Crump said. "We will not rest until we get answers and justice for Glenn Foster Jr. and his distraught family.”
Foster's death remains under investigation.
Foster joined the Saints and the NFL in 2013 as an undrafted rookie coming out of the University of Illinois. During New Orleans' preseason campaign that year, he led the team in quarterback sacks with four and QB hits with five while adding a forced fumble to secure a spot on the team for the regular season.
Foster stood out at moments in his rookie year, recording three sacks in 12 games, as the Saints went 12-6, including winning the franchise's first-ever road victory in the wildcard, divisional or conference championship stages of the playoffs.
He was injured partway through the 2014 season — the first of three consecutive, frustrating 7-9 campaigns for the Saints — and only appeared in five games.
The Saints cut Foster prior to the 2015 campaign.
Foster remained in southeast Louisiana following his playing career, working as a contractor, developer and real estate agent. He owned a granite countertop business with retail stores on Magazine Street in New Orleans and Baton Rouge.
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