YPSILANTI TOWNSHIP, Mich. – The video is shocking to see. A clearly agitated man is inside an Ypsilanti auto parts store overturning displays. The frightened sales staff calls 911.
Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrive on the scene and try to deal with the man, who at various points is aggressive. He lies down on the ground, gets back up and takes a running charge through the glass doors of the store.
Deputies had no idea who they were dealing with. That agitated man was former NFL defensive tackle Brian Price.
Price played for Tampa Bay, Dallas and Chicago and is married to track star Candice Price. They have a beautiful young daughter and a baby boy on the way.
Candice Price will tell you, if her husband had been anywhere other than Washtenaw County, she's sure he'd be dead right now. Everybody who ran into Brian Price that April day at first thought he was drugged out of his mind. He wasn’t.
Deputies called Candice from the hospital.
"They’re, like, 'Are you Mrs. Price?' I'm, like, 'Yes.' They said, 'We have your husband in the emergency room,'" Candice said. "When I got there and the officers were describing the incident to me, I was just shocked. I couldn’t believe the things they were describing."
CTE suspected
That’s when she explained to the deputies and to the doctor that her husband was a former NFL player and likely suffers from CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
Those at the hospital said the man who acted that way on the video was not the man who eventually regained focus at the hospital. They said he was apologetic and gentle.
Brian, for his part, told Local 4 he doesn’t remember the episode, just coming to with blood in his mouth.
CTE is caused by repeated blows to the head and can manifest in aggression, depression, suicidal thoughts and dementia.
READ: Study: CTE found in 99% of dead NFL players' brains
On Tuesday night on Local 4 News at 11 p.m., Local 4 will delve into why the diagnosis isn’t a sure thing and why parents of children who play contact sports should be vigilant about protecting their children from injuries.
RELATED: