QUAKERTOWN, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — Three of the five high school students who were arrested after an altercation with police during a protest against ICE on Feb. 20 have been released from custody.
Community organizers working with families of kids who were detained said two students were still in custody. All five defendants had a private court session on Tuesday.
Ashley Orellana was one of the protesters who walked out of school to decry Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and she said her classmates never should have been locked up.
“It’s horrible, like they can’t speak up about what happened to them,” she said. “Nobody knows the truth about them. It’s just sad.”
Robert McMillion’s sister was one of the students who was detained.
“She didn’t even hit nobody, she didn’t violate anybody, she complied, didn’t resist,” he said. “She’s just upset that she got targeted.”
After video of the incident circulated online, community members alleged a man in a brown jacket seen putting a girl in a chokehold was Quakertown Police Chief Scott McElree.
Attorney Donald Souders, who represents a 16-year-old boy released Tuesday, said McElree’s alleged involvement raised assault charges against the students to felony level. However, he said there was no indication the man was a police officer.
“He didn’t show up in a marked patrol car. I don’t believe he was on duty. He was wearing plain clothes, didn’t have any badge and didn’t proclaim that he was a police officer,” Souders said.
“None of these juveniles that were there, charged or otherwise, knew or had any reasonable reason that this alleged victim was a police officer.”
The Bucks County District Attorney’s Office is investigating the incident. Meanwhile, community members have called for McElree’s suspension or resignation.
“He should step down, it’s horrible,” said Orellana. “Him putting a girl in a chokehold is horrible. He should’ve never done that to kids.”