Defense attorneys representing Pennsylvania high school students say their young clients had no way of knowing that the plainclothes man who grabbed a 15-year-old girl by the neck during a protest was actually the town’s police chief.
The legal team says students from Quakertown Community High School were demonstrating against immigration enforcement when they acted to protect themselves, and they plan to challenge all charges. The accusations include simple assault that was upgraded to felony aggravated assault because the alleged target is Police Chief Scott McElree.
“He charged from his vehicle into the middle of this group of kids,” defense attorney Donald Souders explained Wednesday. “Many of the kids jumped in, in an attempt to defend her. They assumed that this was a counterprotester.”
According to the defense team, 72-year-old McElree drove up in an unmarked vehicle without wearing any uniform, badge, or hat, and failed to announce his identity. Social media videos captured the altercation between the students and law enforcement officers.
McElree, who doubles as the Philadelphia suburb’s borough manager, hasn’t responded to messages left at his residence and workplace on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“My client was directly choked by the chief. It was alleged that she had struck him, which she did not,” stated attorney Timothy Prendergast, representing the small 15-year-old girl. “They are innocent. They were exercising their First Amendment rights. The chief did not like that and acted outside of his authority.”
Prendergast’s client and at least two other students were freed Tuesday, with some placed under house arrest wearing electronic monitoring devices. It remained unclear Wednesday whether the remaining two students were still detained. The attorneys haven’t revealed their clients’ names, as juvenile court files aren’t available to the public.
Community members are demanding McElree step down. Bucks County District Attorney Joe Khan launched an investigation while simultaneously pursuing charges against the teenagers in juvenile court. Defense counsel questioned Khan’s ability to remain neutral while handling both responsibilities.
Approximately 35 students had organized a walkout Friday to oppose U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement policies when officers confronted them near a bakery, roughly half a mile from their school.
Souders is defending a 16-year-old male student whose glasses were shattered when a uniformed officer pushed him into a large planter during the confrontation. The teenager spent his weekend in detention trying to remove glass fragments from his eye, receiving care from a nurse before his father brought him to a hospital Tuesday following his release, Souders reported.
School district leaders had initially discussed the planned walkout with student organizers but revoked approval Friday morning due to safety worries, according to the acting superintendent’s public statement.
Most participants are students of color, with several being children of immigrant families, their legal representatives noted. Both Quakertown, home to roughly 9,300 people, and the high school, enrolling about 1,650 students, have predominantly white populations.
Defense attorneys say the demonstrating students faced harassment during their march from another student group shouting insults and racial slurs at them.
“Throughout the protest, the police were following from a distance,” Souders noted. “Probably in hindsight, they should have interceded between the protesters and counterprotesters. They were saying really awful things to get the kids riled up.”
His client, a junior who maintains two restaurant jobs, was freed under house arrest with electronic monitoring, allowing him to leave only for school, work, religious services, and other pre-approved activities.
As minors, the teenagers are entitled to adjudication hearings within 30 days — or 10 days if remaining in custody. However, the legal team expects to request additional time to collect video footage and other case evidence.
“This was an abomination of (police) escalation when it should have been a teaching moment for de-escalation,” said attorney Ettore “Ed” Angelo, who represents another charged 15-year-old girl who was released.
