By Robert Haugh

As many people know by now, linebacker Reuben Foster was waived by the 49ers. He was arrested the night before the game versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on November 25 for a domestic violence charge.

What we didn’t know is that Foster was involved in a domestic violence call in Santa Clara just a month earlier.

On October 12, Santa Clara police responded to a domestic violence call about Foster at a Lick Mill Boulevard apartment complex in the Northside. Elissa Ennis, Foster’s girlfriend was involved.  Here’s a link to the body cam footage and the 911 call transcript.

Ennis was also the woman who called the police in Tampa in November. Last February, she called the police about Foster for another domestic violence incident in Los Gatos. She later recanted her testimony about that incident.

Why was the report of the Santa Clara incident not known until after the Tampa arrest?

We checked with a handful of sources at City Hall and no one knew about it. No one. No kidding.

Even Police Chief Mike Sellers said he did not know about the October Santa Clara arrest until after the November Tampa arrest. Here’s what he told Gwendolyn Wu of the San Francisco Chronicle:

Police Chief Mike Sellers said he was unaware of the incident until last week and the department does not inform the 49ers, or any other business, about domestic incidents involving their employees.

“Since it did not happen at work, we would not contact the employer of anyone being investigated unless there’s (sic) ties to the employer,” Sellers said.

Multiple sources who have left the Santa Clara police department tell us no way. They say the command staff would have told the police chief right away.

According to one source, “Sellers would have known within minutes and he would have told Mercurio within minutes.” Jim Mercurio is a 49ers Vice President who is also the Stadium Manager. Mercurio was also a guest at Sellers’ wedding a couple years ago.

The 49ers have said they were not aware of the Santa Clara incident in October until recently.

But Ennis’ attorney Adante Pointer challenged the 49ers’ denial. He told the Chronicle:

“Our understanding is (the 49ers) were aware of what took place in October,” Pointer said. “They got in contact with Mr. Foster, so our understanding after speaking to him was that the 49ers talked to him about what took place.”

If the 49ers knew, how did they know?

Wahid Kazem, a Santa Clara police captain, told The Chronicle that the department is “familiar” with Foster’s employer.

A lot of people inside and outside the police department are asking if there was a coverup of the October domestic violence call. No one really believes Sellers and the 49ers were not informed.

Sources say that District Attorney Jeff Rosen will file some type of charge against Foster.

Let’s hope that the DA’s office looks into why no one — including them — was informed about the October incident. Maybe they’ll uncover a coverup.

Editor’s Note: Foster was claimed off waivers by the Washington Redskins. The team is getting a lot of negative press about the move.