Lawyers say Pennsylvania student protesters did not know a man who joined scrum was the police chief

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Lawyers for student protesters detained in Pennsylvania for four days after a scuffle with police say their clients had no idea the stocky older man in street clothes who joined the fray and put his arm around a 15-year-old girl’s neck was the local police chief.

The attorneys said the students from Quakertown Community High School who were demonstrating against immigration enforcement policies acted in self-defense and will fight the charges. They include a simple assault charge elevated to aggravated assault, a felony, because the alleged victim is Police Chief Scott McElree.

“He charged from his vehicle into the middle of this group of kids,” defense lawyer Donald Souders said Wednesday. “Many of the kids jumped in, in an attempt to defend her. They assumed that this was a counterprotester.”

The 72-year-old McElree, the attorneys said, arrived in an unmarked car, had no badge or hat or uniform on, and never identified himself. Videos posted to social media showed the tussle between students and officers.

McElree, who also serves as the Philadelphia suburb’s borough manager, did not return messages left Tuesday and Wednesday at his home and office.

“My client was directly choked by the chief. It was alleged that she had struck him, which she did not,” said lawyer Timothy Prendergast, who represents the petite 15-year-old girl. “They are innocent. They were exercising their First Amendment rights. The chief did not like that and acted outside of his authority.”

Prendergast’s client and at least two others were released Tuesday, some on home confinement with ankle monitors. It was not immediately clear if the other two remained in custody Wednesday. The lawyers did not identify their clients, and juvenile court records are not public.

Some residents have called for McElree to resign. Bucks County District Attorney Joe Khan opened an investigation, while also prosecuting the teens in juvenile court. The defense lawyers questioned whether he could remain impartial in both roles.

About 35 students had staged a walkout Friday to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement policies when police approached them outside a bakery, about a half-mile from school.

Souders represents a 16-year-old boy who, he said, had his eyeglasses broken as he was knocked into a large planter by a uniformed officer during the scrum. The boy spent the weekend in custody trying to get glass particles out of his eye, and was seen there by a nurse before his father took him to a hospital Tuesday after his release, Souders said.

High school administrators had met with the student protesters about the planned walkout, but then withdrew permission on Friday morning out of safety concerns, the acting superintendent said in a statement.

Many in the group are students of color, and some are the children of immigrants, their lawyers said. Both Quakertown, with about 9,300 residents, and the high school, with about 1,650 students, are predominantly white.

According to defense lawyers, the students were taunted along the route by another group of students yelling insults, including racial epithets, at them.

“Throughout the protest, the police were following from a distance,” Souders said. “Probably in hindsight, they should have interceded between the protesters and counterprotesters. They were saying really awful things to get the kids riled up.”

His client, a high school junior who works two restaurant jobs, was released on home confinement with an ankle monitor, he said. He can leave home for school, work, church and other approved activities.

As juveniles, the teens have a right to an adjudication hearing within 30 days — or 10 days if they are in custody. However, the lawyers expect to seek more time to gather video and other evidence in the case.

“This was an abomination of (police) escalation when it should have been a teaching moment for de-escalation,” said lawyer Ettore “Ed” Angelo, who represents another 15-year-old girl charged and released in the case.