One day after announcing that its embattled police chief returned to work, Quakertown Council released an email message praising the actions of Chief Scott McElree and the Quakertown Borough Police Department during the Feb. 20 arrest of five high school students.

            Using words and photographs, a released municipal statement justifies the actions of its police department. It states that McElree and the borough are "extremely proud of how all the officers of QPD reacted to chaos that erupted when [McElree] was attacked."
            The members, who could no longer maintain their silence while waiting for the Bucks County District Attorney's Office to complete its investigation into the incident involving a student-led protest, claimed in the statement that it was time to provide its residents "with a full and complete account of the events leading up to and including the altercation in front of Sunday's Deli & Restaurant."
            The May 7 statement – from all seven members, and signed by council President Donald E. Rosenberger – claims that officers displayed restraint and professionalism. The document credits McElree for the "training [he] drilled into them."

            A lawyer representing one of the Quakertown Community High School students arrested while protesting the actions of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency described the statement as ...