Quakertown students facing aggravated assault charges following clash with police chief Scott McElree

QUAKERTOWN, Pa. (WPVI) — A student walkout against ICE in Quakertown escalated into a chaotic confrontation Friday, leading to the detention of five teenagers and prompting an independent review of the police response.

Videos of the incident, including footage showing the borough’s police chief placing a child in a headlock, are now central to both juvenile court cases and a district attorney’s office investigation.

The teens appeared before a judge on Tuesday for closed juvenile detention hearings.

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According to attorneys and family members, some of the students are facing aggravated assault charges, and at least two have been released from detention on house arrest.

Several videos from the protest are being used as evidence in the felony cases, while the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office is separately reviewing the police response, including the conduct of Chief Scott McElree.

Defense attorney Donald Souders, who represents one of the students, said the allegations do not involve his client or the other teens assaulting uniformed officers.

McElree was not in uniform, and according to students, did not identify himself.

“I’ll say that none of the allegations factually involved my client or any of the other defendants striking, assaulting, having any improper contact with the other uniformed police officers that were there, that in my view were acting appropriately and trying to de-escalate the situation,” Souders said.

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Because juvenile court was closed over the weekend and again on Monday due to a storm, the teens remained in detention until Tuesday’s hearings.

“Fortunately, my client was released with certain conditions,” Souders said. He added that prosecutors are seeking continued detention for at least one of the juveniles.

Souders said part of the defense centers on the claim that the students did not know McElree was a police officer when he approached the group.

Ashley Orellana, a Quakertown High School senior and friend of one of the arrested students, echoed that in an interview with Action News.

“Everybody was confused because nobody knew it was a policeman. He was in regular clothes. We were just like, ‘Why is the man attacking us?'” she said.

Orellana attended Tuesday’s hearing to support one of the defendants. So did Robert McMillion, who witnessed his younger sister’s arrest.

“The chief, the unmarked man, he just started attacking us first, and something should be happening to him instead of the kids,” McMillion told Action News.

Quakertown police initially said some students engaged in “disruptive behavior,” during the walkout, including hitting and kicking cars and blocking traffic. Students countered that some protesters were reacting to harassment from drivers in trucks.

The Bucks County District Attorney’s Office is continuing an independent investigation into the police response.

At a borough council meeting Monday night, parents and community members called for McElree to resign or be fired.

The police department, borough council and district attorney’s office have declined to comment further until the investigation concludes.