DEWEY BEACH, Del. - The American Civil Liberties Union of Delaware has settled a lawsuit against the Town of Dewey Beach after obtaining body-worn camera footage it said was improperly withheld following a public records request.
The lawsuit, filed in March 2026 in Superior Court, alleged the town unlawfully denied access to body-worn camera footage recorded by six police officers. According to the ACLU of Delaware, Dewey Beach voluntarily provided the requested footage after the lawsuit was filed.
"Body-worn cameras only provide transparency and accountability to the extent that the public can actually access the footage," said ACLU of Delaware 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."
The organization said it sought the footage after receiving a report that a group of young people may have faced discrimination because of their race during the summer of 2025.
None of the young people involved were charged with a crime, and there appeared to be no active investigation into their conduct at the time of the records request, according to ACLU of Delaware.
The ACLU of Delaware said in a release that the outcome demonstrates that body-worn camera footage can be released to the public and may influence how similar requests are handled by law enforcement agencies across the state.
CoastTV reached out to the Dewey Beach Police Department, but have not heard back. ACLU of Delaware has not responded to CoastTV's request for information on what the video revealed or entailed.
