A demonstrator was confronted Wednesday outside Quakertown Borough Hall before a council meeting where again the public demanded accountability in the wake of the student-police violence last month after a high school walkout.
The April 1 meeting was considerably calmer, with residents calling for empathy for the students and consequences for town manager and police Chief Scott McElree after his clash with students on Feb. 20 during an ICE protest.
Regina Padilla, a Lehigh Valley organizer, and other witnesses said that an unknown man suddenly approached the group while Padilla was shouting, “Show me what democracy looks like!” and tried to grab her megaphone.
The exchange is partially blocked in a video of the incident, but the man appears to raise his hand toward the megaphone while Padilla pulls it away.
Padilla said she plans to press charges.
Calls for investigation, empathy, consequences at Quakertown meeting
During public comment at the meeting, Padilla said she tried to flag down a Quakertown police officer for help after the incident, but that the officer looked at her and then “sped off.”
The borough’s solicitor said Thursday that the officer Padilla saw was heading to an emergency call, that Padilla could’ve called 911 if she had an emergency, and that Padilla was able to file a report Wednesday night.
She wasn’t planning on speaking, Padilla said later, but wanted to make sure what happened outside wasn’t swept under the rug.
About 30 people attended the meeting, which was marked by calls for investigation, accountability and dialogue.
Residents mentioned the emails McElree sent after the walkout melee obtained via Right to Know request, in which the chief references an unspecified “evil sect” and defends his department’s use of force against the teens.
Several speakers said they felt “evil sect” meant them.
David DiLorenzo urged council to “dig under every rock” while awaiting the results of the district attorney’s investigation into the police handling of the walkout, saying “revelations” about the chief have him “concerned.”
Susie Jensen called on the council to have empathy for the teens charged with felonies, which would remain on their records into adulthood if convicted.
Some residents remain confused about the school district’s role in the walkout, especially after McElree, in an email, claimed without evidence that the school board was involved, which the board president has denied. Acting Superintendent Lisa Hoffman has not responded to repeated requests for clarification from this news organization.
Borough resident Sarah Collins said she grew up in Haycock and that she’s deeply connected to the community where she raises her kids and volunteers. “While I have a lot of love for my town,” the way the students were treated was “shameful and embarassing,” Collins said.
“Our town is just a microcosm of what’s going on in our country.”
Quakertown resident invites council, police to listening circle at church
Upper Bucks United organizer Jane Cramer handed out fliers for “community listening circles” planned at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church on April 11 and 24 led by The Peace Center, a nonprofit that Quakertown High School is also using to help heal divisions in the wake of the post-walkout violence.
A meeting attendee invited the council and local police to attend the listening circles.
McElree implicated his whole department by writing things like “I know we all are on the same page” in the emails defending his use of force, Megan Amy and other speakers said.
Amy added that she’s sure McElree’s views don’t represent all the officers. “There’s no reason why we need to throw our entire police department under the bus.”
