(Video via San Jose Mercury News)
Santa Clara police have released body cam footage of their response to an Oct. 12 domestic disturbance call involving Reuben Foster and his ex-girlfriend Elissa Ennis. The edited footage has been published by the San Jose Mercury News.
The video shows police arriving at the scene of a high-end apartment complex on Lick Mill Boulevard in Santa Clara, after neighbors reported hearing a loud argument between a man and a woman in Foster and Ennis’ apartment. This took place just months after Ennis, under oath, told a Santa Clara County judge that her claims that Foster had physically assaulted her during a Feb. 11 incident in Los Gatos was a lie, done in an attempt to ruin his career after he had broken up with her. The Santa Clara County district attorney dropped the domestic violence charges against Foster shortly after.
In the video, Foster refuses to provide a statement, and is handcuffed and detained in the backseat of a police vehicle after failing to cooperate with the responding officers. Both Foster and Ennis tell police the argument stemmed from her getting upset after seeing something on his phone, but Ennis does not respond to questions about being physically assaulted. Foster is eventually released without any charges being pressed.
Foster was released by the 49ers on Nov. 25, after being arrested at the team hotel in Tampa following another domestic incident with Ennis.
“He invited me to come see him in Florida, and I came and he took one of my phones and he slapped me and pushed me,” Ennis told ABC News in a video released Dec. 6. “I told him I was going to tell his new girlfriend that he paid for my flight out there, so that’s what triggered it.”
In the interview with ABC, Ennis also recanted her testimony from May, saying that Foster did indeed hit her during the February incident, and that she lied to protect his career.
“I did what I had to do for the person I love,” Ennis said. “I thought that he would change.”
Foster was claimed on waivers by the Washington Redskins after being released by the 49ers, and was placed on the commissioner’s exempt list, meaning he cannot practice or attend games, as the NFL conducts an investigation.