The ACLU of Delaware filed a lawsuit Friday against Dewey Beach amidst discrimination allegations.
The ACLU received a report that a group of young people allegedly were discriminated against by a group of police officers in Dewey Beach last summer. The organization requested the body camera footage from six officers at the scene, which the local police department denied.
Dewey Beach claimed it can deny the request because of legal exemptions to the Freedom of Information Act, which does not extend to material being used in active investigations or records that invade privacy.
But ACLU civic engagement counsel Andrew Bernstein said Dewey didn’t provide adequate explanation to deny access to the footage.
“We do not believe that any of those exemptions they cited are properly applied here and the town did not provide much in the way of a rationale other than just citing the exemptions when they denied the records,” Bernstein said.
Because the lawsuit was just filed, Bernstein could not go into the details of the case or the allegations.
Bernstein added the incident occurred in a public space, nullifying the privacy argument.
“It's important because the police serve and protect the community, and the reason they wear body cameras, in many instances, is to be able to monitor how well they are serving that goal,” Bernstein explained. “And FOIA broadly allows citizens access to public records that relate to the public interest.”
The lawsuit is in its infancy, and the ball is in Dewey’s court to respond within 60 days or file a motion.
