A law enforcement official told the Associated Press Thursday that he sent the surveillance video showing Ray Rice punching his then-fiancee in the face and knocking her unconscious to NFL headquarters to the attention of league security chief Jeffrey Miller in April.
"I unequivocally deny that I received at any time a copy of the video and I had not watched it until it was made public on September 8," Miller said in a statement.
And NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has said several times publicly that no one in his office viewed the video until TMZ posted it on its website earlier this month.
The law enforcement official, speaking to the AP on the condition of anonymity, said he didn't know if Miller ever saw the video, and that his only communication with the league was a voicemail from an unidentified woman in the league offices confirming that the package containing the video had been received.
“Since the NFLPA and NFL have launched separate investigations into the league and the Ravens’ handling of Ray Rice’s case, I want to make a few things clear,” the source told the AP. “No one from the NFL ever asked me for the inside-elevator video. I mailed it anonymously to Jeff Miller because he’s their head of security. I attached a note saying: ‘Ray Rice elevator video. You have to see it. It’s terrible.’ I provided a number for a disposable cellphone and asked for confirmation that it was received. I knew there was a possibility Mr. Miller may not get the video, but I hoped it would land in the right hands. ...
"My intention wasn't to bring down Commissioner Goodell or anyone else at the NFL," the source added. He said he has no plans to speak with league investigators about the case.
In a letter sent to NFL owners Sept. 10, Goodell wrote that no one in the league office had seen the video, but added: "It would have been illegal for law enforcement to provide [the] Rice video to [the] NFL"
From Goodell's letter:
"Once a criminal investigation begins, law enforcement authorities do not share investigatory material (such as the videos here) with private parties such as the NFL. In addition, the state's Open Public Records Act excludes material that is generated in the context of an active law enforcement proceeding. The law enforcement agencies did nothing wrong here; they simply followed their customary procedures. As the New Jersey Attorney General's office said yesterday, 'It would have been illegal for law enforcement to provide [the] Rice video to [the] NFL.'"
Additionally, Goodell explained why the league didn't request the video from the casino where Rice punched his then-fiancee:
"Our understanding of New Jersey law is that the casino is prohibited from turning over material to a third party during a law enforcement proceeding, and that doing so would have subjected individuals to prosecution for interference with a criminal investigation."
According to Goodell's timeline, the NFL requested the video in February and then asked for it again in May after Rice was admitted into a pretrial diversion program.
Miller, meanwhile, joined the NFL in 2008 as director of strategic security. He was promoted to chief security officer in April 2011. Prior to joining the NFL, Miller spent almost six years as the commissioner of the Pennsylvania State Police, and prior to that, he worked for the state police for 24 years.
