Pallotto v. Pennsylvania State Police
Case Number: 2025-CV-07648
Court: Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas
Clients: Bret Pallotto, Centre Daily Times
Background: On Aug. 19, 2025, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 24 people during an immigration enforcement action in Centre County, Pennsylvania. Troopers from the Pennsylvania State Police were present during the enforcement action.
Journalist Bret Pallotto, who has reported on the ICE arrests for the Centre Daily Times, submitted a request to the Pennsylvania State Police seeking access to troopers’ police body-worn camera footage capturing the enforcement action. Pallotto requested the records under Pennsylvania’s Act 22, a law passed in 2017 authorizing members of the public to request video or audio recordings created by law enforcement agencies.
The State Police denied the request, asserting that the incident was not “investigated” by state troopers and suggesting that Pallotto instead reach out to ICE to access recordings.
On behalf of Pallotto and the Centre Daily Times, Paula Knudsen Burke, the Reporters Committee’s Local Legal Initiative attorney for Pennsylvania, filed this lawsuit against the State Police asking the Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas to order the police officials to turn over the requested bodycam recordings. The lawsuit argues that the significant public interest in disclosure outweighs the government’s interest in keeping the records secret.
From the lawsuit: “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.”
Learn more: Check out this story from the Centre Daily Times for more information about the lawsuit and the newspaper’s effort to access recordings related to the ICE enforcement action.
Updates:
- On Nov. 7, 2025, the Centre Daily Times withdrew the lawsuit after the state police agreed to turn over dashcam recordings of the immigration enforcement action.
- On Nov. 15, 2025, Pallotto reported that the dashcam recordings “appear to verify the role and public statements of the state police,” which had said that its troopers did not conduct the traffic stops. The state police told the Centre Daily Times that because the troopers were not involved in the enforcement action, they did not activate their bodycams.
Filings:
2025-10-08: Petition for review
2025-11-07: Praecipe to withdraw/discontinue