Bucks County police chiefs say Quakertown officers’ actions during anti-ICE student protest were ‘justified and within police policy’

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A panel of four Bucks County police chiefs found that the Quakertown Police Department’s response during a student protest Feb. 20 was “justified and within police policy.”

“The Department’s actions were consistent with established training, best practices, and professional standards,” said Quakertown Borough Solicitor Peter Nelson in a press release. “The Borough’s officers acted within the scope of Department policy during a challenging and volatile situation.”

In March, the borough requested that the Police Chiefs’ Association of Bucks County conduct an independent review of the incident, which saw about 35 students from Quakertown Community High School walk out of class in protest of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions. Police arrested five students during the confrontation.

The Bucks County District Attorney’s Office, which is conducting its own investigation into the police response to the protest, has since dropped felony charges against two of the five students.

The district attorney’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the status of its investigation.

Quakertown police ‘would have been justified’ in using chemical agents, tasers, report finds

Four Bucks County police chiefs — Buckingham Township Police Chief David Scirrotto, Bensalem Police Director of Public Safety William McVey, Morrisville Borough Police Chief Richard Ciampa and Upper Southampton Police Chief Dominic Varacallo — reviewed the police department’s policies and video footage of the event.

The report said the protest “became unruly, unlawful, and placed lives at risk,” as “protesters overtook the street, cursed at passing vehicles, punched and kicked at least one vehicle, and threw an ice ball at another vehicle.”

After two warnings, officers attempted to arrest a female protester who was standing in the road and “encouraging others” to do the same, according to the review. When the student pulled away from one officer who sought to detain her, she was pointed out to Quakertown Police Chief Scott McElree, who was in plainclothes, the report said. McElree then “moved into the crowd and attempted to grab the offender to assist with her arrest,” according to the report.

Videos show McElree restraining the student by putting his arm around her neck.

The report said that McElree’s restraint of the student, captured in multiple photos and videos of the incident, “did not rise to the level of an attempted chokehold.”

McElree then sustained “a violent, somewhat coordinated attack by multiple offenders,” according to the report, as protesters punched him in the head with fists and a cell phone.

Together with videos of the confrontation, McElree’s injuries, which included fractured ribs, a collapsed lung and a lacerated ear, “are clear evidence that Chief McElree was the victim that day,” the report said.

Police “would have been justified” in deploying chemical agents, taser or impact weapons during the incident, the review concludes.

“The members of the Quakertown Borough Police Department handled themselves with restraint and professionalism during a time of chaos,” it reads.

Overall, the report found that Quakertown police “demonstrated advanced planning, appropriate supervision, and a measured tactical approach that prioritized public safety while allowing students to exercise their First Amendment rights.”

“Although the event became increasingly disorderly at points, officers made repeated attempts to deescalate and maintain control without resorting to force,” the report reads. “When arrests became necessary, officers acted in a manner that was reasonable, restrained, and consistent with the laws governing the use of force.”

Report recommends Quakertown police adopt PR plan, ensure officers are identifiable

The review found that McElree “was not clearly identifiable as a police officer on that day,” when “best practice requires that he be clearly and visibly identifiable as law enforcement.” It recommends that a badge or other police markings should be “prominently displayed” when an officer is in plainclothes.

The report includes several other recommendations:

• Uniformed “arrest teams” should make arrests, rather than plainclothes officers.
• All police personnel should be equipped with body-worn cameras during similar events.
• A public relations plan should be adopted by the police in the future. The Quakertown Police Department did not “provide clear and transparent messages” to the community via press conferences, press releases or social media releases.

Calls continue for McElree to resign

Some Quakertown community members, including more than 17,000 people who have signed an online petition, are calling for McElree to resign. They say that McElree’s attempt to detain the student constituted a chokehold and represented an excessive use of force.

In the days following the incident, the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania alleged that McElree “effectively was acting as a counter-protester,” and had violated his commitment to “serve and protect” the Quakertown community.

A spokesperson for the ACLU of Pennsylvania declined to comment on the report’s findings.

Parents have also condemned the school district’s decision to cancel the protest due to safety threats.

McElree, who also serves as the borough’s manager, is currently on workers’ compensation leave from both positions.