Seeking answers about Centre County ICE arrests, CDT sues for body cam footage
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Centre Daily Times sues Pennsylvania State Police to obtain Aug. 19 body cam footage.
- State Police denied Act 22 request, citing noninvolvement after noting highway inquiries.
- Lawsuit argues disclosure outweighs nondisclosure under Act 22.
The Centre Daily Times filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the Pennsylvania State Police after it refused to release body cam footage from an August incident in which state troopers were present during 24 arrests carried out by federal immigration officials.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested two dozen men Aug. 19 in what it called a “targeted enforcement operation” on Interstate 99 near Bellefonte. Four local immigrants rights groups said the men were arrested while traveling to work at the construction site at Mount Nittany Medical Center.
Some members of those same groups accused the Pennsylvania State Police of helping ICE, even though state policy prohibits troopers from assisting federal immigration officials.
State police have denied those accusations, with a spokesman initially stating that troopers had “no involvement.” However, shortly thereafter, another spokesman acknowledged state police stopped along the highway and made “inquiries” but left after being told everything was OK.
The CDT aimed to independently confirm state police’s role by reviewing the body cam footage. But state police denied the CDT’s formal request made under Act 22, a 2017 law that could compel state police to release body cam footage (except in limited circumstances).
The state police’s open records officer told the CDT on Sept. 8 that it would not comply with the body cam footage request because the audio/video is “not associated with an incidnet (sic) investigated by Pennsylvania State Police.”
In the CDT’s lawsuit, attorneys argue two main points — the CDT’s request was improperly denied because state police never claimed any exceptions such as the footage containing confidential information or potential evidence, and the public interest in disclosure outweighs the interest in nondisclosure.
The CDT is being represented by Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP), a national organization providing pro bono legal services for journalists and newsrooms in the U.S.
“There’s just not a lot of cases like this out there, which makes the CDT’s case so important,” said RCFP’s Pennsylvania-based attorney Paula Knudsen Burke, explaining few legal challenges have been made involving Act 22. “... The point is showing law enforcement going about their duties, and their duties that day — as we understand it — were responding to an incident on the side of the road. And whatever their footage captured, taxpayers pay for that equipment, the cameras and storage — and the whole point of Act 22 was to provide transparency for both citizens and law enforcement.”
State police did not immediately respond to a Friday message seeking comment about the lawsuit.
Based on reporting primarily from CDT reporter Bret Pallotto, who is also named as a lead plaintiff, it’s unknown where ICE detained the men, whether they were here legally or whether they were given fair hearings. ICE identified only two of the two dozen arrested — one of whom was allegedly a member of the Central American street gang MS-13 and another who reportedly has convictions of assault, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.
Local immigrant rights groups identified all the arrested men as being nationals from Mexico and the Central American countries of Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Honduras. Those groups included Centre County Rapid Response Network, People’s Defense Front, Student Committee for Defense and Solidarity, and the Pennsylvania Immigration Coalition.
During a joint press conference held by many of those same groups within 48 hours of the incident, a foreman from the construction site said that state police appeared to assist ICE in targeting the vehicles that carried those arrested.
“The information released to date about the August 19, 2025, incident leaves many important questions unanswered,” the CDT’s lawsuit states. “Access to the requested footage will give the public and the press information to better understand the role that Pennsylvania State Police played in the arrest of 24 people in Centre County and whether that role was in accordance with Pennsylvania State Police policy.”
The Centre Daily Times filed the lawsuit in hopes to force the state police to release the footage. A Dauphin County judge will review the lawsuit — state police are headquartered in Harrisburg, Dauphin County — and, as long as it proceeds, an evidentiary hearing or briefing schedule will likely come next.
Burke hopes to see a resolution to the CDT’s case by the end of the calendar year.
“We’re litigating these body cam issues throughout the country, and we’re pushing for transparency,” Burke added. “We’re hoping for some good outcomes.”
