Four Bucks County police chiefs have determined that the Quakertown Borough Police Department acted with restraint and professionalism during the arrest of five students on Feb. 20 during a protest of the actions of the U.S. Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

            According to a review disseminated last week by the borough's solicitor, four chiefs concluded that Quakertown's officers and Chief Scott McElree complied with established training, best practices and professional standards.

            The report, from the Police Chiefs' Association of Bucks County, determined that the municipal department demonstrated advanced planning, appropriate supervision, and a measured tactical approach that prioritized public safety while allowing students to exercise their First Amendment rights.

            It describes McElree as the victim of the incident, claiming he endured "extensive injuries," including three fractured ribs, a collapsed lung, a lacerated ear and a possible concussion. The report described the attack against the chief as "violent and somewhat coordinated."

            One day after the arrests, the office of Bucks County District Attorney Joe Khan announced an investigation into the actions of the Quakertown police. The office has yet to release any findings.

            An April 8 letter from Buckingham Township Police Chief David Scirrotto, Bensalem Police Director of Public Safety William McVey, Morrisville Borough Police Chief Richard Ciampa, Upper Southampton Police Chief Dominic Varacallo and Joseph Bartorilla, chief of the Middletown Township department and president of the association, to Solicitor Peter Nelson – from the Perkasie firm of Grim, Biehn & Thatcher – detailed the findings. It describes all use of force as "objectively reasonable and, in each instance, proportionate to or minimal to the level of resistance encountered by officers." It states that they used "only the minimal force necessary to overcome resistance and aggression. No chemical agents, taser, or impact weapons were deployed."

            At least three of the arrestees sustained minor injuries. However, the 19-page report states that those injuries do not automatically constitute excessive force when the force used is objectively reasonable and necessary to overcome resistance. 
            Municipal authorities arrested five high school students and one adult following a physical altercation in front of a restaurant at the intersection of Front and Juniper Streets. The adult was never charged. The report does not mention the man.
            Last month, a Bucks County Juvenile Court judge dismissed two felony counts against a 16-year-old boy. Two other misdemeanor counts will eventually be expunged.
            Later in March, prosecutors withdrew charges of felony aggravated assault and misdemeanor simple assault against a 15-year-old girl. Less serious charges of resisting arrest, a misdemeanor, and disorderly conduct remain, according to her attorney Ettore "Ed" Angelo.

            According to the report, McElree arrived on scene, in plain clothes, in his unmarked police vehicle with his emergency lights activated. It states that after seeing Lt. Joshua Mallery motion to the offender he wanted detained, the chief moved into the crowd and attempted to grab the offender to assist with her arrest.

            At this point, the chaos and violent attack on McElree began, according to the report. It states that over the next few minutes, he sustained multiple punches to the head by various offenders, that he was punched in the front of the head multiple times by a male offender with a cell phone, and others punched him multiple times in the area of his head and body with their fists, even after falling to the ground. 

            The report claims that an image of McElree with his arm around a female suspect's upper torso/neck inaccurately portrays that action. It states that the behavior did not rise to the level of an "attempted chokehold" because it was captured from a clip lasting less than two seconds. It captured a moment immediately after he had fallen to the ground, while restraining a resisting subject, according to the information from the police chiefs.