UPDATE: ACLU-DE Settles Lawsuit for Dewey Beach Body-Cam Footage
UPDATE: The ACLU of Delaware (ACLU-DE) has settled its lawsuit against Dewey Beach in the Superior Court of New Castle County.
The suit alleged that the town unlawfully denied access to body worn camera footage from law enforcement officers. The ACLU-DE says that after filing its lawsuit in March, Dewey Beach voluntarily provided the body-worn camera footage that was requested.
“Body-worn cameras only provide transparency and accountability to the extent that the public can actually access the footage,” said ACLU-DE Civic Engagement Counsel Andrew Bernstein. “This victory demonstrates that law enforcement agencies across the state can and should provide footage to Delawareans who seek it… we hope this win will encourage other law enforcement agencies across the state to make body-worn camera footage readily available to the public to foster trust and build cooperation.”
DEWEY BEACH, Del. – The American Civil Liberties Union of Delaware (ACLU-DE) filed a lawsuit on Friday against Dewey Beach in the Superior Court of New Castle County.
The lawsuit alleges the town unlawfully denied access to body worn camera footage from six officers. The Town of Dewey Beach argued the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request was denied under exemptions for investigatory files, criminal records, and common or statutory law.
However, in its denial letter to the ACLU-DE, Dewey Beach provided no indication the body worn camera footage was gathered following any allegation or report of a criminal or civil law enforcement investigation. Dewey Beach also cited the criminal records exemption, but the ACLU-DE argues this exemption applies only where the requested records would invade privacy. Dewey Beach provided no justification for how releasing the footage would do so.
ACLU-DE says their request for the body worn camera footage came after receiving a report that a group of young people had faced potential discrimination due to their race during the summer of 2025. None of the young people were charged with a crime, and there appeared to be no active investigation into their conduct.
“One of the key reasons Delaware mandated that law enforcement officers wear body worn cameras is to provide greater transparency and accountability to the public,” said ACLU-DE Civic Engagement Counsel Andrew Bernstein. “Unnecessarily blocking access to that footage undermines the public’s trust.”
To read more about the lawsuit, click here.
This article was originally published on Mar. 13 at 4:06 p.m.
