Former NFL wide receiver Davone Bess told an Arizona television station that his bizarre behavior which led to a SWAT team extracting him from his home was because of an undiagnosed mental illness.
Bess told ABC15 that he was not taking his medications the night of the incident, and has since been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
He wouldn’t be interviewed on camera, but he said he was being treated at an area mental health facility at the time of the incident. He said he was released early from the facility and not in a good state of mind, leading to the bizarre standoff with police.
But he also didn’t remember the name of the facility he was supposedly in, when he was admitted or when he left.
The former Dolphins and Browns receiver has pleaded not guilty to unlawful flight from a law enforcement vehicle, after trying to get away from cops without the aid of headlights. They eventually just went to his home and waited for him to come out, after he barricaded himself inside.