Packers running back Josh Jacobs sues to have evidence in his battery case permanently sealed

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs has filed a lawsuit seeking to have evidence in his battery case permanently sealed.

The lawsuit against the Hobart-Lawrence (Wisconsin) Police Department was filed Wednesday in Brown County Circuit Court.

Jacobs pleaded no contest last month to misdemeanor charges of battery and criminal damage to property stemming from a May altercation with his then-girlfriend. He was charged in late August, and the criminal complaint against him noted that a surveillance video from the camera system in their garage corroborated the woman’s statement.

That video hasn’t been released, and lawyers representing the woman filed a motion last month asking that the evidence be sealed.

Clarence Duchac, the lawyer representing Jacobs in this lawsuit, said in his complaint that Jacobs “joins and supports (the victim’s) position that the identifying, private and sensitive records associated with the underlying incident should not be publicly released.”

Shortly after Jacobs was charged, the NFL placed him on the commissioner’s exempt list, which prevents the three-time Pro Bowler from playing or practicing but allows him to keep receiving a paycheck.

In the complaint, Duchac says that public release of records identifying the victim or disclosing sensitive information about her “would force unwanted exposure upon her and risk revictimizing her through renewed public scrutiny.”

The complaint says the police should be prohibited from publicly releasing “descriptions, images, audio recordings, video recordings, statements, communications, or other materials” whose disclosure might threaten the woman’s “privacy, dignity, safety, emotional well-being, or ability to obtain closure.”

The complaint also notes that public sports figures have recently been targeted for robberies and other related property crimes, and that releasing the video would reveal details of the garage’s interior that might put Jacobs at risk.

"The public availability of (Jacobs’) schedule or travel information increases the risk that persons could identify periods when (Jacobs) is away from home and use released information concerning the residence, garage, access points, security arrangements, or property to target the property,” the complaint says. “Widespread public dissemination of those details would materially increase (Jacobs’) vulnerability to theft, burglary, robbery, trespass, or other targeted criminal conduct.”

Jacobs was arrested May 26, three days after police officers came to his Wisconsin home to investigate a disturbance. According to police, the woman told them that Jacobs grabbed her and threw her to the ground as she was trying to exit a garage door, causing her to hit her head. Police said Jacobs also took her phone from her while she was on the ground.

Police said they noticed redness on her face and neck and could feel a bump on the back of her head.

Under an agreement Jacobs reached with prosecutors, the criminal damage charge against him can be dismissed in a year if he fulfills terms that include staying out of trouble, avoiding the victim in this case, submitting to supervision, completing counseling and paying restitution to the victim.

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