Nephin v. City of Lancaster

Case Number: CI-25-03559

Court: Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas

Clients: Dan Nephin, LNP Media Group, Inc

Background: Dan Nephin, a crime and public safety reporter with LNP | LancasterOnline, submitted a request to the Lancaster City Bureau of Police seeking access to body-worn camera and dashboard camera footage capturing the March 2, 2025, arrests of two juveniles who were riding their bicycles on city streets. 

The incident has attracted lots of local news coverage. After the release of a bystander’s video showing the arrests, activists called for the officers involved to be fired. However, the Lancaster police chief held a press conference on March 18, 2025, absolving the officers of any wrongdoing, determining that they used the minimum amount of force required to arrest the juveniles. Many questions about the arrests remain unanswered.

Nephin requested the bodycam and dashboard camera footage 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 city of Lancaster denied Nephin’s request. The city’s rejection argued that the recordings Nephin requested “contain[] [p]otential evidence in an ongoing matter; [i]nformation pertaining to an investigation or a matter in which criminal charges ha[ve] been filed; confidential and/or victim information,” and stated that “[r]easonable redaction of the recording would not safeguard potential evidence.”

On behalf of Nephin and LNP, Reporters Committee attorneys filed this lawsuit against the city of Lancaster seeking access to the recordings of the arrests. The lawsuit argues that the city’s denial was “arbitrary and capricious,” and that the public interest in accessing the recordings outweighs the city’s interests in keeping them secret.

Filings: 

2025-05-09: Petition for review