Packers RB Josh Jacobs sues to block release of records, video from May altercation

Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs filed a civil suit seeking a permanent injunction that would restrict access to records and video from his May 23 altercation with a woman at his home, per Adam Schefter of ESPN. The filing is the latest legal step in a case that has kept the veteran back on the NFL's commissioner exempt list since late August.

The suit lands two days after ESPN was told, in response to a public-records request, that the Hobart/Lawrence (Ind.) police department had determined certain records could be released with appropriate redactions — but that one or more parties had appealed that decision, leaving nothing set for immediate release.

Jacobs was arrested May 26 and later charged with misdemeanor battery and criminal damage to property. He entered a no-contest plea in September, with no jail time sought and a $1,000 fine plus costs ordered on the battery count, while the league continued its review under the personal conduct policy. He has remained on the exempt list — paid, but barred from practicing or playing — and an NFL decision on a potential suspension has been described as forthcoming.

The push to keep the material sealed is not new: on Sept. 24, a judge denied the victim's request to have evidence permanently sealed and turned the matter over to the police department, which now fields release requests for records that include surveillance footage of part of the incident. Jacobs' civil suit seeks to go further with a permanent injunction barring access. In his absence, Green Bay's backfield has been built around Kaleb Johnson, acquired from Pittsburgh the same day Jacobs went on the exempt list, with the team preparing for Sunday night's matchup against the Cowboys.