Police records from the Josh Jacobs battery case will stay out of public view for now. The Hobart-Lawrence Police Department said Tuesday, Oct. 13, that many of the records can legally be released, but attorneys for people named in them have said they will go to court to block the release. Those records likely include home security video the NFL reportedly wants to see before deciding Jacobs’ punishment.
The Green Bay Packers running back has already missed five games on the NFL’s commissioner’s exempt list. He isn’t expected to play Sunday, Oct. 18, against the Dallas Cowboys. That would bring his total to six games, the league’s standard starting point for a domestic violence suspension, with no final ruling yet.
What did police say about the Josh Jacobs records?
The department said its review found that records obtained through subpoenas and search warrants could be released with redactions, according to the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Police reports, body camera footage and squad car video could be released as they are. Then the objections came in.
Wisconsin law requires police to notify people named in records before releasing them. Those people get five days to say they plan to sue and 10 more days to file. The department sent notices Oct. 5 and later received written notice from attorneys that they would seek court orders blocking the release, including the broader investigation files. Police didn’t say whose attorneys objected. As of Oct. 13, no lawsuit appeared in state court records and no hearing had been scheduled, FOX6 reported. The department is holding all the records until the waiting period ends and any court orders are decided.
What happened in the Josh Jacobs case?
Prosecutors say Jacobs and his then girlfriend argued at his Hobart home on May 23, and the argument ended with him throwing her to the ground and damaging her phone. Investigators said she suffered a head injury. Brown County prosecutors charged him in August with misdemeanor battery and criminal damage to property.
On Sept. 10, Jacobs pleaded no contest to both charges. Judge Marc Hammer fined him $1,000 plus court costs for battery. On the property charge, Jacobs entered a deferred judgment agreement that requires counseling, battery intervention, restitution, no contact with the woman and no new legal trouble for a year. If he complies, that charge will be dismissed. FOX6 has reported that neither charge was filed as domestic violence under Wisconsin law.
Why does the video matter so much?
On Sept. 24, Hammer declined to permanently seal the evidence and said Wisconsin’s open records law favors public access. He left it to police to weigh the interests of the public, Jacobs and the victim. The victim, who hasn’t been named, has raised concerns that her personal information could become public.
Then there’s the NFL. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Sept. 13 that the league wanted to see security video from Jacobs’ home before deciding how long to suspend him. The Press-Gazette reports that video is likely among the records gathered by subpoena or search warrant. Packers coach Matt LaFleur said Oct. 12 that he had no update on the league’s investigation.
What happens to Josh Jacobs next?
Games Jacobs misses on the exempt list would count toward any suspension, according to FOX6. Under the league’s personal conduct policy, the baseline for a first domestic violence violation is six games, though aggravating factors can mean more. After Sunday, Jacobs will have reached that baseline.
That sets up the real countdown. The window for attorneys to file suit runs out in the coming days. If no lawsuit is filed, the records, and possibly the video, could become public. If a lawsuit is filed, a judge will decide, and the NFL may keep waiting. Either way, Jacobs’ season now depends on a court filing as much as anything that happens on the field.
