5 Quakertown students arrested during ICE protest will enter diversionary programs, DA says

The five Quakertown Community High School students who were arrested and accused of assaulting police officers have agreed to enter diversionary programs to resolve their cases, the Bucks County District Attorney's Office said Monday. 

The five students, who left school for a protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement in February, were initially charged with felony aggravated assault and other counts. DA Joe Khan's office approved those charges based on sworn affidavits, officials said in an update posted on Monday. 

After "close scrutiny of additional evidence," including video footage obtained since the incident, the DA's office has withdrawn the aggravated assault counts and some other charges. The DA's office also offered all five students diversionary options that will help them expunge the records of the February arrests. All five students agreed to the diversionary programs, officials said. 

The DA's office said it kept details of the investigation private to protect the students.

Some of the students' felony charges had already been dropped.

This all stems from a school walkout on Feb. 20, when about 40 teenagers walked through Quakertown to protest ICE. After they walked a few blocks, police attempted to arrest one of the protesters. Then, Police Chief Scott 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 McElree, who is also Quakertown borough manager, was a police officer, but officials have said he identified himself and turned on the lights in his car.

The DA's office is also investigating the Quakertown Borough Police Department's response to the incident. Detectives have reviewed reports, statements and other evidence provided by the police department and have also obtained outside evidence. Now that the students who were arrested have resolved their cases, the office says it is "working with their attorneys to ensure that our investigators provide a full and equal opportunity for witnesses such as these to have their voices heard."

Quakertown Borough Council previously declined to take any disciplinary action against McElree for his role in the incident. 

In one video of the walkout, McElree appeared to put a 15-year-old girl in a chokehold. In a statement last month, borough council said, "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.

After the incident, McElree took workers' compensation leave for his injuries. He has since returned to work. The teens who were arrested spent multiple nights in custody and then on house arrest, their lawyers said.

The DA's office did not say whether or when it will release its investigation into the police.