Nexstar Media, Inc. v. Pennsylvania State Police
Case Number: 2025CV5096
Court: Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas
Client: Nexstar Media, Inc.
Background: In April 2025, a Pennsylvania state trooper fatally shot Deshawn Leeth on the turnpike after he stole a police cruiser in Ohio and took off into Pennsylvania. After an investigation, the Beaver County District Attorney concluded that the shooting was justified, determining that there were no criminal violations on behalf of the officers involved.
Shortly after, reporters for the television station WKBN obtained dashboard and body-worn camera footage showing Ohio troopers’ interactions with Leeth leading up to the shooting. The next month, Chelsea Simeon, a producer for television stations WKBN, WYFX, and WYTV, submitted a request to the Pennsylvania State Police for footage of Leeth’s confrontation with law enforcement after he crossed the state border. Simeon 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 Simeon’s request, claiming the footage contains potential evidence related to a criminal investigation. On behalf of Nexstar Media, Inc., Paula Knudsen Burke, the Reporters Committee’s Local Legal Initiative attorney for Pennsylvania, appealed the denial to the Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas.
The petition argues that the requested footage cannot be exempt from Act 22 for evidentiary or investigative purposes because the Beaver County District Attorney has cleared the officers involved of criminal wrongdoing. In addition, the footage doesn’t contain confidential information or victim information that would render it exempt from disclosure.
The lawsuit highlights the sprawling news coverage of the shooting, arguing the public has a strong interest in disclosure of the footage to provide meaningful oversight of law enforcement.
From the Lawsuit: “The information released to date about the April 4, 2025 incident leaves many important questions unanswered,” the lawsuit argues. “Access to the requested footage will give the public and the press insight into these questions to better understand the circumstances surrounding Mr. Leeth’s death at the hands of law enforcement.”
Related: In 2021, Burke filed the first Act 22 case to be heard by a court in Pennsylvania on behalf of a journalist and LNP Media, helping them obtain more than a dozen hours of police bodycam footage capturing a clash between protesters and law enforcement officers during demonstrations demanding police reform and accountability in September 2020. Since then, she has represented journalists and news outlets in two other Act 22 cases.
Filings:
2025-07-03: Petition for review
2025-09-25: Order scheduling oral argument
2025-08-28: Answer to petition