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TPD releases Florida State athlete police records

Sean Rossman
Tallahassee Democrat
Jameis Winston.

The Tallahassee Police Department on Wednesday released hundreds of police reports related to Florida State University athletes in a massive public records request by ESPN.

The requests come after TPD and FSU were the subject of major investigative pieces by the New York Times this year. The Times pieces focus mostly on how the agency and the department handle police run ins involving FSU players

Paula Lavigne, an ESPN reporter for the show Outside the Lines, in September requested police records for the names of 360 FSU athletes, which produced 300 police reports that TPD handed over to ESPN on Wednesday. The records include reports where the names of athletes were listed as either a witness, victim, suspect or reporting party, according to TPD spokesman David Northway.

TPD alerted local media to the request Wednesday afternoon.

Northway said a few missteps were noted while sifting through the records.

One sexual assault case involving an FSU football player had a piece of evidence that was not immediately processed. The piece of evidence ultimately had no impact on the case, Northway said. The case was subsequently reclosed. No charges were filed after TPD consulted with the State Attorney's Office.

Another case that came up in the report involved an aggravated assault in which two men were alleged to have brandished a handgun at a neighbor on July 17. Running back Dalvin Cook is listed as an associate in the case, which is currently under investigation.

"We are committed to ensuring that every citizen of this community, including our university students, know that we take every report of possible activity seriously," said TPD Chief Michael DeLeo.

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