2nd Quakertown teen has some charges dropped after altercation with police chief during ICE protest

A second teenager had assault charges in connection with an altercation with the Quakertown police chief during a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement protest in February withdrawn, according to her attorney.

Ed Angelo, the attorney representing the 15-year-old girl, said prosecutors had insufficient evidence to support those charges, which included felony aggravated assault and misdemeanor simple assault.

The girl is still facing three other misdemeanors: resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and obstructing the roadway. Angelo said he's preparing for her juvenile trial set to begin April 14.

Last month, all five Quakertown teenagers arrested during an ICE protest in February had their ankle bracelets removed and were released from house arrest.

At that time, a 16-year-old boy was the only one to accept an agreement with the Bucks County District Attorney's office, which included dismissing the felonies against him and six months of probation, community service and a meeting with the police chief before the misdemeanors were also dismissed, his attorney Don Souders said.

"It's been incredibly dramatic," Souders said at the time, "and that's why we entered the consent decree because it brings closure to this episode, which has been a total trauma."

The DA's office said it can't comment on cases involving juveniles.

Souders recently wrote a letter to the DA's office inquiring about the status of the investigation into the police response at the student protest on Feb. 20, when roughly 40 students walked out of Quakertown Community High School to protest ICE.

After walking a few blocks, the protest turned physical and a man in a brown jacket stormed into the crowd of teens. It turned out the man was the chief of police and Quakertown borough manager, Scott McElree.

Witnesses said McElree never identified himself as a police officer and was dressed in regular clothes.

"I think the uniformed officers did their best to de-escalate the situation," Souders said. "It wasn't until [McElree] sprung himself on the kids that things went sideways."

Five students were arrested for assaulting McElree and spent several nights in custody.

The DA's office said it's investigating the police response that day, but did not give a timeline for when the investigation is expected to be complete.