Police files detail additional abuse allegations against Josh Jacobs

Newly released police records show that at least three other women contacted authorities with allegations of abuse against Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs in the weeks after his May arrest.

The Hobart/Lawrence Police Department released a heavily redacted case file late Friday in response to a public records request from NBC 26. The documents detail accounts from women who said they experienced similar incidents with Jacobs in 2021 and 2022.

None of those earlier reports resulted in charges at the time.

One woman contacted police in June after learning of Jacobs’ arrest. She described an incident on Jan. 5, 2022, in which she said Jacobs slapped her, grabbed her by the hair, threw her onto a bed, pinned her down, threw her to the floor, spit on her, and grabbed her by the throat. She said he also took her phone as she tried to leave.

The woman told investigators she had remained friends with Jacobs afterward and had not previously reported the incident. She said she came forward because the May allegations sounded similar to her own experience and she wanted people to believe the other woman.

A second woman contacted police later in June about an April 2021 argument. She said Jacobs grabbed her by the arms, pushed her against a wall near a window, and threw her belongings outside the home. She reported bruising to her arms and pain and swelling in her rib area.

Records obtained by Hobart/Lawrence police from another department confirmed she had called authorities at the time, but officers observed no visible injuries, and the matter was not pursued as a domestic incident.

A third woman spoke with police in July about a May 2022 encounter. She alleged that Jacobs placed his hands on her head and neck, dragged her, scratched her chest and took her phone after it fell to the floor. She said she suffered bruising and scratches and did not report the incident because Jacobs told her she could be deported if she contacted authorities.

Jacobs was arrested May 26 after an incident three days earlier at his residence involving his then-girlfriend. He pleaded no contest on Sept. 10 to misdemeanor counts of battery and criminal damage to property. A judge ordered a $1,000 fine on the battery charge and deferred the property damage charge for 12 months under conditions that include no contact with the victim, counseling and supervision.

The NFL placed Jacobs on the commissioner’s exempt list in August; he missed the Packers’ first six games before being activated. The league’s investigation into possible personal conduct policy violations remains ongoing, and the additional allegations could factor into any further discipline.

Video of the May incident was withheld from the records released Friday. Only body and dash camera footage from Jacobs’ arrest was made public.

Jacobs has filed a civil lawsuit seeking a permanent injunction to seal surveillance video and other evidence from the case.