Time hasn’t quelled calls for the ouster of the police chief at the center of the clash between officers and students at an ICE protest two weeks ago in Quakertown.
Dozens gathered at the Quakertown Borough Council meeting March 4 to ask the council to take action on McElree, but the council remained unmoved, reiterating that it would not comment until the Bucks County District Attorney’s investigation into Quakertown police conduct during a February student walkout had concluded.
That was not enough for attendees who argued that the council could take immediate action to, for example, put McElree on administrative leave.
The Feb. 20 off-campus protest of at least 35 teens was originally to take place on school property before school officials withdrew support at the last minute over threats of violence. Several teens, now known collectively as the “Quakertown 5,” are charged with felony aggravated assault and other misdemeanor charges after a fight broke out between the plainclothes chief, students, and other police.
The chief, who is also town manager, is currently out on worker’s compensation. He sustained face and rib injuries in the clash with students, according to a police affidavit. Attorneys for the students also allege that their clients were injured in the melee.
Several residents called for more empathy from the council members for the students, whom locals said have received threats and bullying from other students.
There were about 30 people in the main council meeting room, and a borough official said at one point that there were another 30 people in an overflow room.
Although few have spoken in support of keeping McElree at council meetings, many residents have defended him on social media. A petition started Wednesday highlighted what the creator described as the chief’s track record of positive community interactions, including protest security.
David Stubanas, who said he filmed much of the violence between police and students after the walkout to protest ICE, asked whether Quakertown police officers are screened for extremist political views.
“Is it possible that the chief of police didn’t see children, but saw the enemy?” Stubanas asked on Wednesday.
Public posts on a Facebook account with both McElree and his wife’s name on it have used highly politicized language and shown strong support for President Trump. A Facebook post on their account from August 2024 described the Harris-Walz campaign as a “Marxist-Socialist ticket.”
Another post references the 2020 stolen election myth and reads: “Democrats: The party of liars and thieves.”
The profile with both spouses’ names no longer appears to be public on Facebook, and there is no way to know who made the actual posts on what appears to be a joint account.
Many residents focused on McElree’s use of force against one of the high school girls, after the police chief appeared on the scene in plain clothes.
“It was excessive force,” resident William Hahn said. “Short of having and using a deadly weapon, which no one has claimed, I can’t think of something they could have been doing to justify a chokehold on a teenage girl … when I saw some of the videos, it took some convincing to believe he was the chief of police.”
Uncle of Quakertown girl put in chokehold speaks out
Joseph Rittenhouse, a resident who said his niece was among the students injured in the violence with police, said that the borough should do more to hold McElree accountable.
As someone who works with kids, “I have been punched, kicked, bitten, threatened, doxxed, many times over,” Rittenhouse said. “I have never responded with the violence that we saw in that video.”
“If you guys are going to remain silent about that,” Rittenhouse told the council, “We are going to do something about it.”
Rittenhouse joined other residents in highlighting what they described as a disparity between the outcomes for the students and the police chief.
“He has faced no consequences,” Rittenhouse said. “My niece certainly has.”
