Glenn Foster Jr’s family uses Super Bowl to bring awareness to his death, demand justice

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On Sunday, hours before Super Bowl 59 was set for kickoff inside the Caesars Superdome, the family of Glenn Foster Jr. stood on Poydras Street, about a mile away from the stadium, chanting his name.

Foster, who played defensive tackle for the New Orleans Saints from 2013-2015, died while in police custody in Pickens County, Alabama, on Dec. 6, 2021. He was 31.

For 2 hours, the family held a rally, demanding justice for Foster and asking others, including the NFL, to advocate for him. His mother, Sabrina Foster, said the location and timing of the rally was strategic.

“We have people from nationwide that are here in our city and we would like to again bring awareness about the tragedy that happened to my son,” Sabrina Foster said.

She also said the NFL and the New Orleans Saints should say more to honor her son.

“Glenn worked for the NFL as a Saints player, and we need them to honor him — to make mention of what happened,” Sabrina Foster said. “They have a social justice program and this is the best [chance] for them to talk about what happened to Glenn.”

Foster was arrested on Dec. 3, 2021. Police allege he was speeding and attempting to flee before he was arrested. His family said he was diagnosed with having bipolar disorder and had a history of mental health issues. They believe he may have been suffering from a manic episode during his arrest and throughout the 3 days he was in custody.

On Dec. 6, 2021, officials told Foster’s family he was found unresponsive in the back of a police car while in transit to a hospital in Northport, Alabama, for a mental evaluation. Sabrina Foster said she was told he died of natural causes.

Later, his family had an autopsy performed that said Foster’s body showed signs of stragulation and torture.

“They called it the cardiovascular disease which is a ‘Black man’s disease,’” Sabrina Foster said at the rally. “They want to say that he died of that because they didn’t want to be transparent and say that he was tortured and that he was brutalized while they were in his care.”

Pickens County officials also told Foster’s family that they lost the body camera footage of his arrest and his belongings were destroyed. A request for comment for this story from the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office by the Gulf States Newsroom was not returned.

“They had no evidence of what happened to Glenn, nothing,” Sabrina Foster said. “We could not see his body when we were there. We could not see Glenn when we went to go visit him.”

Sabrina Foster said his appointed attorney was also not allowed to see Foster because of COVID-19 restrictions.

On Dec. 6, 2023, Foster’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office and the Pickens County Jail.

Foster’s wife, Pamela Foster, said she didn’t want to share with their children what happened to their father.

“He was their hero, he was our provider. He was a fantastic father, great husband, and perfect man,” she said.

The family’s lawsuit states that law enforcement ignored medical staff saying he needed attention and instead took him to jail. They allege Foster was chained to a chair, stripped naked, tased, beaten and choked while in jail.

The Foster family hired civil rights attorney Ben Crump to demand answers from the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office. He called on the Department of Justice to perform a full investigation.

“We suspect the Department of Justice is going to consider whether to have a pattern of practice investigation because they continue to violate the civil rights of citizens, especially Black citizens,” Crump said during a news conference announcing the lawsuit’s filing in December 2023.

A judge ruled to move forward with the Foster family’s case on Dec. 5, 2024, Sabrina Foster said.

“That was the happiest day since his death,” she said. “We see something positive moving forward.”

In January, a $20 million lawsuit was filed against the Reform Police Department — also in Pickens County — after a viral video showed a white officer tasing a handcuffed Black man. In 2021 another lawsuit was filed against the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office after an officer fatally shot a mentally ill Black man in his home.

This story was produced by the Gulf States Newsroom, a collaboration between Mississippi Public Broadcasting, WBHM in Alabama, WWNO and WRKF in Louisiana and NPR.