Quakertown Police Chief McElree will not be disciplined for altercation with teens, borough council says

For the first time since a brawl between a police chief and teenagers, we're hearing from the Quakertown borough council. In a statement released Friday, the council said it is not taking any disciplinary action against the chief for his actions during the altercation on Feb. 20 with Quakertown Community High School students.

The borough announced on Thursday that Scott McElree was back to work at reduced hours as Quakertown police chief and borough manager. Then Friday, council released a lengthy statement concluding McElree was physically beaten and seriously injured by students and that officers showed restraint and professionalism thanks to training from McElree.

This all stems from a school walkout on Feb. 20, when about 40 teenagers walked through Quakertown to protest Immigration and Customs Enforcement. After a few blocks, police attempted to arrest one of the protesters. Then, McElree, who was wearing regular clothes and driving an unmarked car, got involved in a physical altercation with some of the teens.

Later, many said they had no idea he was a police officer. In Friday's statement, council says McElree identified himself and turned on his car's lights and siren.

At one point, McElree appeared to put a 15-year-old girl in a chokehold. The statement from borough council says, "This was not a chokehold. The Chief has never applied a chokehold in his career and has never been trained on how to apply a chokehold." 

Instead, it said, his arm positioning was due to a height difference between McElree and the girl and because he was knocked to the ground by students.

The borough sent 20 images of the events that day, including those that show the students walking in the road and blocking traffic. The caption of one image says it shows the protesters interacting with McElree, who was driving a white SUV prior to the brawl.

One image was captioned as, "Another protestor striking Chief McElree in the back of the head with a fist."

Five teenagers were arrested following the altercation, spent several nights in custody, and were charged with felonies. Most of the teens have since had the felonies dismissed.

It's unclear how the borough council came to its conclusions. Members did not initially share what evidence they reviewed and whether they interviewed witnesses. After CBS News Philadelphia asked for that information, the borough solicitor said borough staff used information and documentation already gathered, but the borough did not conduct an investigation.

Attorney Ed Angelo, who represents one of the teenagers facing charges, sent CBS News Philadelphia a statement that said in part, "The borough council report fits nicely into our two-tiered system of justice. My 15-year-old client got arrested in minutes, then jailed for 4 nights. Meanwhile, the chief gets a slap on the back."

We reached out to the council president and McElree and have not heard back.

The Bucks County District Attorney's Office is continuing its investigation into the police response that day. It has yet to release findings.