Dewey Citizens for Accountability
deweycitizens.org news@deweycitizens.org
PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release: Jeffrey C. Smith 443-603-2132 jcs@wpa.org
WHY HAS THE DEWEY POLICE AND TOWN FAILED TO DISCLOSE A RECENT ESCAPE BY A SUSPECT FROM THE DEWEY JAIL?
June 8, 2018 - Today it came to light that following street chaos in Dewey Beach, DE on May 27, 2018 which led to a number of arrests, a suspect escaped from the Dewey Beach Police Department’s jail, but neither the town or the police department has reported it. The information, along with details about how the escape was made thru the Alderman’s court and out a side door, is reliable and factual. The sources asked that their names remain private, given the seriousness of the incident and the safety related questions surrounding it not being reported to the public.
The "Dewey Beach Brawl" of Memorial Day Weekend, as reported previously in various local and regional newspapers, involved a drunken crowd, a suspect punching a horse, and an assault by one suspect’s vehicle on a State Police officer. But the Jail escape has not yet been reported or disclosed in any means. It is believed that the suspect was recaptured but any such information has not been confirmed.
This situation mirrors an incident last year, where a loaded service weapon, a taser, and loaded magazines was stolen from a Dewey Police Officer’s unlocked vehicle on April 15, 2017, but not reported or disclosed to the Dewey residents until Mid-August, 2017. The stolen police gun has not yet been recovered.
The Dewey Citizens for Accountability urge the town and the Police Department to disclose the jail escape as part of the promised transparency, and for an outside party to investigate this escape, as these incidents present considerable risk to the town’s residents for which they should be informed in a timely and responsible manner.
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