A video allegedly showing Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs putting his hands on a woman could eventually become public.
A Brown County, Wisconsin, judge ruled Thursday against sealing evidence in Jacobs’ battery case, potentially clearing the way for the release of footage that prosecutors say shows the NFL player attacking his former girlfriend.
Judge Marc Hammer’s ruling left the decision on whether to release the evidence with the Hobart-Lawrence Police Department, according to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky.
“Any new requests for the records will be handled by the HLPD, which will determine whether it is considered fair to release those records,” Demovsky reported. “The victim or Jacobs will be granted time to appear if the HLPD decides to release the records.”
Jacobs was charged with one count of battery and one count of criminal damage to property after prosecutors alleged he roughed up a woman identified as “ANM” during a heated dispute at his Wisconsin home in May.
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According to the criminal complaint, Jacobs allegedly threw the woman to the ground and later damaged her phone. Prosecutors said surveillance cameras captured part of the confrontation.
Jacobs pleaded no contest to the charges in court on Sept. 10, after which the alleged video was expected to become available through public police-records requests. Five days later, on Sept. 15, ANM asked a judge to seal the evidence.
In a court filing, the woman argued that releasing the alleged footage to the public could threaten her “privacy, dignity and safety.”
“Unless restrained,” ANM’s request stated, “Hobart-Lawrence Police Department may disclose records or information in a manner that irreparably compromises Petitioner’s privacy and safety. Once sensitive information is released publicly, the resulting harm cannot be fully remedied.”
Ramses Jalalpour, an attorney for ANM, told the California Post on Thursday that if the Hobart-Lawrence Police Department moves forward with releasing records tied to Jacobs’ case, “we will likely seek a court order preventing the release of those materials pursuant to my client’s rights under Wisconsin’s Constitution and Wis. Stat. § 19.356.”
Jacobs has been on the commissioner’s exempt list since August, preventing him from practicing or playing for the Packers.