Allegations against Lake County Councilman Jamal Washington surface with protective order

CROWN POINT — A Lake County councilman facing domestic abuse charges is denying he has a history of violence against women, as alleged in a newly released court document.

The Times has obtained a copy of a protective order that a Lake Circuit Court judge issued in 2015 against Jamal Washington by a 24-year-old woman who alleged several violent encounters with Washington, 44, a Merrillville Democrat.

He has served on county government's chief fiscal body since his 2014 election and is running to become a member of the powerful three-member Lake County Board of Commissioners.

The Times attempted to obtain documents associated with two other expired court protective orders issued against Washington more than eight years ago. The clerk's office said those documents were destroyed, as is most paperwork in cases that have been resolved for longer than two years.

Read more: http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/allegations-against-lake-county-councilman-jamal-washington-surface-with-protective/article_8f014ccf-f758-5e39-a698-0587604ae9f8.html