Lawyers say Pennsylvania student protesters did not know a man who
joined scrum was the police chief
[February 26, 2026]
By MARYCLAIRE DALE
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Lawyers for student protesters detained in
Pennsylvania for four days after a scuffle with police say their clients
had no idea the stocky older man in street clothes who joined the fray
and put his arm around a 15-year-old girl’s neck was the local police
chief.
The attorneys said the students from Quakertown Community High School
who were demonstrating against immigration enforcement policies acted in
self-defense and will fight the charges. They include a simple assault
charge elevated to aggravated assault, a felony, because the alleged
victim is Police Chief Scott McElree.
“He charged from his vehicle into the middle of this group of kids,”
defense lawyer Donald Souders said Wednesday. “Many of the kids jumped
in, in an attempt to defend her. They assumed that this was a
counterprotester.”
The 72-year-old McElree, the attorneys said, arrived in an unmarked car,
had no badge or hat or uniform on, and never identified himself. Videos
posted to social media showed the tussle between students and officers.
McElree, who also serves as the Philadelphia suburb's borough manager,
did not return messages left Tuesday and Wednesday at his home and
office.
“My client was directly choked by the chief. It was alleged that she had
struck him, which she did not,” said lawyer Timothy Prendergast, who
represents the petite 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 others were released Tuesday, some
on home confinement with ankle monitors. It was not immediately clear if
the other two remained in custody Wednesday. The lawyers did not
identify their clients, and juvenile court records are not public.
Some residents have called for McElree to resign. Bucks County District
Attorney Joe Khan opened an investigation, while also prosecuting the
teens in juvenile court. The defense lawyers questioned whether he could
remain impartial in both roles.
About 35 students had staged a walkout Friday to protest U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement policies when police approached them
outside a bakery, about a half-mile from school.
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Quakertown Community High School is seen, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, in
Quakertown, Pa. (PJ Schaefer via AP)
Souders represents a 16-year-old boy who, he said, had his
eyeglasses broken as he was knocked into a large planter by a
uniformed officer during the scrum. The boy spent the weekend in
custody trying to get glass particles out of his eye, and was seen
there by a nurse before his father took him to a hospital Tuesday
after his release, Souders said.
High school administrators had met with the student protesters about
the planned walkout, but then withdrew permission on Friday morning
out of safety concerns, the acting superintendent said in a
statement.
Many in the group are students of color, and some are the children
of immigrants, their lawyers said. Both Quakertown, with about 9,300
residents, and the high school, with about 1,650 students, are
predominantly white.
According to defense lawyers, the students were taunted along the
route by another group of students yelling insults, including racial
epithets, at them.
“Throughout the protest, the police were following from a distance,”
Souders said. “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 high school junior who works two restaurant jobs, was
released on home confinement with an ankle monitor, he said. He can
leave home for school, work, church and other approved activities.
As juveniles, the teens have a right to an adjudication hearing
within 30 days — or 10 days if they are in custody. However, the
lawyers expect to seek more time to gather video and other evidence
in the case.
“This was an abomination of (police) escalation when it should have
been a teaching moment for de-escalation,” said lawyer Ettore “Ed”
Angelo, who represents another 15-year-old girl charged and released
in the case.
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