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Report: NFL security chief was sent Ray Rice video in April

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A law enforcement official in New Jersey said Thursday that he sent a video in April of former Ravens running back Ray Rice punching his then-fiancee to NFL chief security officer Jeffrey Miller, according to a new report.

The Associated Press report said that the unnamed law enforcement official is unaware if Miller ever received the video. This follows an initial report two weeks ago from the wire service that a woman at the league office confirmed receiving the video and said, “You’re right, it’s terrible.”

Through a league spokesman, Miller emphatically denied the allegation that he received the video prior to it surfacing Sept. 8 when Rice’s $35 million contract was terminated and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell increased his punishment from a two-game suspension to an indefinite one.

“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, according to the AP report.

Miller has worked for the NFL since 2008 after a previous stint as commissioner of the Pennsylvania State Police. Miller is a resident of Harrisburg, Pa.

According to the report, the law enforcement official said that he didn’t know if Miller ever got the video. Goodell has denied seeing the video before it surfaced on celebrity gossip website TMZ.

The Ravens, including owner Steve Bisciotti, also have denied ever seeing the video before it became public this month.

“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 law enforcement official 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.”

The NFL has appointed former FBI director Robert S. Mueller III to conduct an investigation into the handling and pursuit of evidence in the Rice case.

The NFL Players Association has hired a former federal prosecutor Richard Craig Smith to investigate the Rice matter, a probe parallel to the players’ union filing an appeal of his indefinite suspension.

Rice has hired veteran lawyer Peter Ginsberg to represent him in NFL matters. Ginsberg represented former New Orleans Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma in the Bountygate scandal.