The ACLU of Delaware settles a lawsuit with the town of Dewey Beach, winning the release of body worn camera footage from police during a summer 2025 incident.
The ACLU of Delaware filed its lawsuit in March after receiving a report that a group of young people had faced potential discrimination due to their race in an encounter with police.
The town initially claimed it could deny the request under Freedom of Information Act exemptions, including footage being used in active investigations or records invading privacy.
But the ACLU argued that response was not adequate, saying the town cited the exemptions without other rationale.
The town relented after the lawsuit was filed and ACLU Civic Engagement counsel Andrew Bernstein says issues like this with municipalities are not rare.
"It was definitely frustrating, and it's unfortunately, a very common problem in Delaware, where very basic requests for information that we would all conceive of as being public, is very difficult to get your hands-on even under our state Freedom of Information Act,” said Bernstein. “So we applaud the town of Dewey Beach for eventually settling because we've definitely had instances, where we've had to actually file briefs, and really get involved in litigation."
Bernstein adds it was his understanding that some charges were brought against the young people and then dropped.
Now that it was released, what’s next?
"We have been in communication with the mother in the incident here, and she's thankful that she's had a chance to review the footage. We do not suspect that any future actions are going to be taken related to the footage that was produced for us," said Bernstein.
Bernstein hopes this situation will lead to less issues with municipalities in FOIA cases.
