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 one more example of two systems of justice. Ettore "Ed" Angelo called it power protecting power.
            "The children get trauma, the chief gets a slap on the back," he wrote in a text message received last week.

            Council announced during last week's public meeting that McElree has returned to work in both his jobs from workers' compensation leave. Information delivered on May 7 by borough Solicitor Peter Nelson states that McElree will work reduced hours as the borough's manager and police chief while he continues to recover from injuries suffered during the incident at the intersection of Front and Juniper streets.
            The municipal statement claims the chief suffered three fractured ribs, a collapsed lung – a lethal condition if not immediately and properly diagnosed and treated – hearing loss and a serious concussion. It states that McElree sustained multiple punches to the head and body from various protesters, including multiple times with a cell phone and in the head by a female swinging a backpack.  

            Municipal officials describe the actions of the protestors as "beyond what could be considered reasonable, necessary, or justified, especially when viewed from the perspective of one elderly man versus forty teenagers..." It also describes the students' actions as "unchecked aggression" that cannot be excused or forgiven because "they are children or thought this unarmed man posed some sort of threat to them or did not know he was a police officer."
            The statement asserts that what the protesters did was "wrong and illegal, and they are old enough to know that." It also states that the borough and McElree "are just grateful that this violence was directed toward [him] and not some innocent bystander trying to get lunch."

            Prosecutors have already dropped multiple felonies against Angelo's client, a 15-year-old girl of color. However, she still faces misdemeanor counts for resisting and disorderly conduct, according to the lawyer, who argued a pre-trial motion to dismiss Tuesday in Bucks County Juvenile Court.

            Last week, a female student represented by Timothy Prendergast entered into a consent decree to a much-reduced set of charges, which will lead to the dismissal and expungement of all charges upon completion of a probationary period. His client did not admit to any wrongdoing.
            According to Prendergast, the student and her family came to this decision, after much contemplation, despite the strong belief among them and him that she was not culpable in this matter. In an email message received May 8, he described it as the best way to make sure the girl moves forward without a criminal record.
            "I believe my client has shown a great deal of courage and maturity throughout this process," wrote Prendergast, adding that his goal was always the goal to ensure that his client did not receive a criminal record. "I personally feel that the most culpable person in this matter is the only one who will not face any repercussions."

            Christine C. Cregar, a Montgomery Township attorney representing one of the students, appeared in court on May 8. She declined to comment on the outcome of her client's case.

            However, Cregar described council's decision to allow McElree to return to work as irresponsible since the district attorney has not completed its investigation. The lawyer also claimed that she received evidence that he was not doing the job before the incident.

            In a text message received Tuesday afternoon, the lawyer wrote that she heard a recorded interview in which Lt. Joshua Malley said McElree was "too busy being the borough manager."  According to the lawyer, Mallery told county detectives that "he handled all day-to-day business, created the schedule for officers, and he only consulted with 'the chief' if it was necessary.

            "It gives the impression it was not often," Cregar wrote.

            According to the report, 40 Quakertown Community High School students left the high school around 11:30 a.m. on Feb. 20 – after administrators cancelled a student-led protest on campus – and started walking towards Broad Street. It states that soon after, other students left the school on foot and in vehicles to harass the protestors.

            To avoid creating a law enforcement presence that could create tension or intimidate the protestors, officers dressed in plain clothes monitored the protest while others in uniform remained on standby.

            As the protestors entered downtown, their behavior became unruly, disruptive and unlawful, according to the document. It states that protestors blocked streets and intersections, walked in front of moving cars, kicked at least one vehicle, hit the side mirror of another and threw an ice ball at another. Several officers, including McElree, from his vehicle, directed the students to stay on the sidewalk.

            When it became clear that the warning was ineffectual, officers decided to arrest the primary instigator, the report states. The subject resisted and was pulled away from the arresting officer by other protestors. When the officer became occupied with another protestor, he pointed out the instigator to other officers and McElree, who were arriving at the scene.

            According to the report, McElree – dressed in plain clothes – attempted to grab the instigator, but was blocked, then attacked by multiple protestors in waves for several minutes. It states that this continued despite McElree being identified as a law enforcement official.

            Additionally, the presentation asserts that McElree did not place one of the protestors in a chokehold. It posits that the position of his arm around a student's upper torso and neck was caused by the disparity in height between the chief and the protester and McElree getting knocked to the ground.

            "This was not a chokehold. [McElree] has never applied a chokehold in his career and has never been trained on how to apply a chokehold," the report states.

            Municipal officials dispute claims by representatives of the protestors that they were unaware McElree was a member of the police department. According to the report, he interacted with them multiple times during the protest, including approaching Front Street in the same police vehicle they had seen him in multiple times.

            The statement and exhibits – which include approximately a dozen photos of pedestrians walking on sidewalks and in the street, some of whom are carrying photos – were prepared by borough staff and consultants using information and documentation already gathered or otherwise obtained by the municipality from the incident, according to a May 8 email message from Nelson.

            It states that existing information and documentation were examined or re-examined in conjunction with the preparation of these documents but no additional investigation was specifically conducted for the statement.