Had the evidence been permanently sealed, the NFL might not have been able to review the video from the May 23 incident at Jacobs’ home in Green Bay
By Andy Backstrom, Contributing writer
Content warning: The following article contains depictions of alleged domestic violence.
Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs remains on the NFL’s commissioner exempt list. And in the lead-up to his team’s Week 3 “Thursday Night Football” game against the Atlanta Falcons, ESPN’s Rob Demovsky reported the latest update involving the case that’s sidelined Jacobs indefinitely.
In Wisconsin on Thursday, Brown County District Court Judge Marc A. Hammer denied the victim’s request to permanently seal evidence, including the surveillance video the criminal complaint said captured a portion of the May 23 incident at Jacobs’ home in Green Bay, as reported by ESPN.
Had the evidence been permanently sealed, the NFL might not have been able to review that video, which could affect the severity of the punishment the league hands the three-time Pro Bowler.
On Sept. 10, Jacobs pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of battery and criminal damage to property. He was reportedly convicted of battery and fined $1,000. Additionally, per ESPN, the 28-year-old Jacobs accepted a deferred judgment agreement on the criminal damage to property charge.
Jacobs was reportedly ordered to pay restitution, attend counseling, avoid contact with the victim and be supervised for one year.
During Thursday’s hearing, Hammer turned the administration of evidence access over to the the Hobart/Lawrence police department, which conducted the criminal investigation, according to ESPN. The police will reportedly handle new requests for evidence in the case once Hammer’s temporary order to seal is canceled on Friday. The NFL isn’t exempt from that filing protocol. It, too, would have to go through that system.
The victim and Jacobs will have the opportunity to appeal if the Hobart/Lawrence police department decides to release evidence. That appeal process would take place prior to the potential release of that evidence, per ESPN’s report.
Earlier this month, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said the organization hadn’t seen the surveillance video in Jacobs’ case.
The criminal complaint, according to a Sept. 1 ESPN report, stated that a woman was trying to leave Jacobs’ garage when he “grabbed her and threw her to the ground, and she struck her head, suffering an injury.”
The Brown County district attorney said the surveillance video from Jacobs’ garage corroborates the victim’s claims of what transpired, as previously reported by The Athletic.
“In the appropriate times, if those things become available (the video), we’ll figure that stuff out when that time comes,” Gutekunst said on Sept. 1.