Photo: Jacob M. Smith when he joined the force in September of 2015.
Former Carroll Police Officer, 26-year-old Jacob M. Smith, resigned his position this past Monday, the day before an article appeared in the Daily Times Herald alleging the resignation was in large-part due to the officer’s relationships with women under the age of 18. On Wednesday, July 19, that officer filed a civil lawsuit with the Carroll County District Court against the author of the article, Jared J. Strong, and the paper’s parent company, Herald Publishing Company. Smith is seeking a jury trial on three counts detailed in the suit, libel, intentional infliction of emotional distress and invasion of privacy-“false light.” Smith’s attorney, James Van Dyke, says the article published in the Carroll Daily Times Herald on July 18 was defamatory in nature and filled with false statements.
Smith and Van Dyke are alleging in the lawsuit that this was a purposeful and malicious act as the defendant, Jared Strong, was informed about many falsehoods, but Smith’s assertions of such did not appear in the article.
The petition goes on to add that even though the article does not contain accusations of any criminal acts by Smith, the wording has created an impression of such activity.
Van Dyke says Strong and Herald Publishing Company are also accused in the petition of making false claims on the reporting of Smith’s dismissal from the police department in Sumner, Iowa.
The suit says the emotional distress suffered is ongoing as this could possibly destroy his career in law enforcement.
In the final count, the petition states the “direct libel” and the “highly offensive” statements about the age of consent law, as it relates to teachers, counselors and clergy but not police officers, casts the plaintiff in a false light. Smith contends that the statements of his involvement with a women under the age of 16 are false. Smith is asking for punitive damages of a total sum that will compensate him for his actual losses and will act as a punishment and deterrent for Strong and the publisher in similar situations. Co-owner of Herald Publishing Company, Douglas Burns, responded by saying only, “The Daily Times Herald stands behind our reporting on this story and will vigorously defend it.” A copy of the petition that includes the article in question can be found below.
