Report: Cleveland PD Launch Investigation Into How NFL Obtained Kareem Hunt's Police Report

The Cleveland Police Department has launched an internal investigation into how the NFL obtained former Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt’s police report. This follows reports that neither the Chiefs nor the NFL appeared on a public records request form until TMZ released video of Hunt shoving and kicking a woman in a Cleveland hotel last Friday, and not in February when the NFL’s initial investigation took place. In a statement released Wednesday, the Cleveland PD revealed that someone from the department leaked Hunt’s report to an NFL representative in February:

Following an internal review, it has been determined that in February 2018 a member of the Cleveland Division of Police provided a copy of the police report involving the February 10, 2018 assault incident at The 9 to a representative from the National Football League.

The report did not go through the official public records request process.

It was quickly established that the NFL failed to properly investigate Hunt back in February, as reports indicated that the league spoke to neither Hunt nor the woman who he shoved and kicked in the video. It’s unsurprising that the league was less than judicious about viewing his police report back in February, or only choosing to pursue it through private back channels.

In the days since the Chiefs released Hunt, TMZ reported that a Kansas City man alleged he was beaten and kicked by a group of men, which included Hunt and former Chiefs running back George Atkinson. The victim went to a Kansas City hospital, where he was treated for a broken rib, broken nose, and multiple bruises and contusions, but stopped talking to police after a report was filed. Hunt and Atkinson were never charged or arrested.