Bucks County DA's Office Concludes Investigation with Criticism of Quakertown Police Chief and No Further Criminal Charges
Following an extensive and complex investigation, the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office has concluded its independent review of the police response to the Feb. 20 student protest in Quakertown Borough. An investigative memorandum summarizing the Office’s findings (“the Quakertown report”) was finalized today and was released to the public once the names of all juveniles were redacted.
No new charges against juveniles or police
Prosecutors have determined that no further criminal charges will be filed against any civilians or police officers involved in the incident.
On Feb. 20, the Quakertown Police arrested and recommended Aggravated Assault and related charges against five juveniles who were alleged to have assaulted Chief Scott McElree. Months after the Feb. 20 arrests, Quakertown Police sought to prosecute additional juveniles for participating in the assault against Chief McElree. Today, the District Attorney’s Office announced that the Office has denied this request.
With respect to the original five juveniles charged on Feb.20, the Office previously announced that it had dismissed certain felony charges which had been recommended by the Quakertown Borough Police Department but which juvenile court prosecutors later determined were unsupported by the facts. The Office also previously announced that it had diverted all five juveniles towards having their records expunged.
Based on an exhaustive review of video and eyewitness evidence and a rigorous application of Pennsylvania law, the Office found no basis for a criminal prosecution of any police officers, including Police Chief McElree, whose use of force against juveniles received heavy scrutiny. While characterizing McElree’s choices as “calamitous” and against best practices in several regards, the Quakertown report describes the level of force used by McElree as within legal limits for a law enforcement official effectuating an arrest.
While these announcements bring closure to the criminal investigations into the actions of Quakertown Police Chief Scott McElree as well as the students who were alleged to have assaulted him, the Quakertown report identifies serious issues that should be addressed in the aftermath of the prosecution of the juveniles and the investigation of the police.
A thorough and protracted investigation
The Quakertown report presents the findings of an exhaustive, months long investigation into the Quakertown Police’s actions on Feb. 20. To ensure the integrity of the investigation, the District Attorney’s Office placed the review in the hands of its Special Investigations Unit (SIU), assigning prosecutors and county detectives with no ties to Quakertown Police and no involvement whatsoever with the delinquency proceedings against the five juveniles.
The report also detailed the timeline and process of the investigation, which was more protracted than other recent investigations referred by law enforcement agencies, because of factors including the following:
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County detectives conducted over two dozen interviews over the course of approximately five months. 22 of these interviews were of civilian witnesses, including four juveniles who could not be interviewed until after their juvenile court prosecutions had resolved. The last of those interviews took place last week.
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Because key personnel such as Chief McElree were not wearing body-worn cameras during the incident, investigators were required to track down, recover, and authenticate civilian protester and bystander videos to build an accurate record. The last of these videos was obtained last month.
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To ensure an objective evaluation of Chief McElree’s conduct, this Office engaged independent use-of-force expert Steve Nolan, a retired Internal Affairs investigator who had no ties to the investigation or the parties involved and would be qualified to testify as an expert witness in a criminal prosecution. Following his review and analysis of all relevant evidence pertaining to McElree’s use of force on Feb. 20, Mr. Nolan submitted his report last night.
McElree’s use of force did not violate Quakertown Police policy or Pennsylvania law
While the evidence showed that Chief McElree held his arm around a juvenile’s neck, Mr. Nolan concluded that this use of force did not violate any Quakertown Police policy on force or any Pennsylvania law relating to permissible types of force that police may use to make an arrest. Because the maneuver did not restrict airway or vascular flow and thus did not constitute an attempt to render the juvenile unconscious, Mr. Nolan’s expert opinion was that McElree did not exceed legal limits on using force in the course of an arrest.
Applying the U.S. Supreme Court standard and Pennsylvania’s Peace Officer Justification defense, the Quakertown report stated that Chief McElree cannot be prosecuted for his use of force because the Commonwealth would not be able to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt that McElree believed his physical actions were necessary to effect an arrest or defend himself while being struck. The report also detailed the Office’s review of numerous other allegations against McElree, including claims that McElree may have acted as a counterprotestor or tried to stop the protest from happening. The Office found no evidence to support these claims.
Sharp criticism of Chief McElree
While the District Attorney’s Office found no basis for criminal prosecutions, the investigative findings yield sharp criticism regarding Chief McElree’s operational choices, command execution, and his department’s delay in adopting the Bucks County Police Chiefs’ Use of Force Suggested Best Practice Standard.
The investigation established that the precipitating factor that led to violence was Chief McElree’s decision to swiftly enter an agitated crowd of teenagers while wearing plain clothes, with no visible badge, uniform, body-worn camera, or handcuffs. This decision created a “fog of war” where students – believing that an unidentified vigilante was attacking them – acted to defend themselves or others, while police officers – seeing McElree attacked – acted lawfully to stop and arrest people who were assaulting a police officer.
“Some have insisted that all of the juveniles arrested should be severely punished for the assault on McElree while others have insisted that all protestors were blameless and that McElree should be arrested and criminally prosecuted for his actions that day. We acknowledge the depth and sincerity of these beliefs. However, as prosecutors, we must follow the facts where they lead us and exercise discretion and judgment in accordance with the rules of professional responsibility. The truth is that while most students protested lawfully, some broke the law. While most protestors and observers did not recognize McElree as a police officer at first, a few students assaulted police officers in uniform and assaulted McElree even after it should have become evident that he was with the QPD. While McElree had the legal authority to use the force he employed, his ill-advised decision to do so was the precipitating incident which led to violence outside of Sunday’s Deli,” reads the report, which was submitted by Chief Deputy District Attorney and Chief of Staff Brendan Flynn. “Given the availability of subordinate officers who were in uniform and wearing body cameras, there was no reason for the Chief of Police to engage high school students in an uncontrolled and emotionally charged environment – especially when he had neither a uniform nor a body camera. Charging after a juvenile without waiting for uniformed officers or even communicating his intentions to his direct reports does not reflect professionalism, coordination or appropriate supervision by the Chief of Police. Although McElree was legally authorized to use force, his decision to do so in the manner he chose was not a measured tactical approach that balanced public safety with First Amendment rights. It was a calamitous decision that disrupted a student protest and led to confusion and trauma for an entire community.”
Furthermore, despite commitments made by law enforcement leadership in 2020, Quakertown Police remains one of the only police departments in Bucks County that has failed to update departmental policies to reflect the Police Chiefs’ Best Practice Standard, including a restriction on techniques intended to cut off the flow of oxygen. Consequently, the Office has issued a recommendation that Chief McElree immediately provide a timeline for fully adopting the standardized use-of-force reforms that most of Bucks County’s police departments implemented years ago.
Repairing Community Harm, Restoring Trust
The events of Feb. 20 caused severe trauma within the Quakertown community, straining relations between residents, youth, and local law enforcement, particularly among racial and ethnic minority families in Upper Bucks who felt uniquely vulnerable in the aftermath. For these reasons, District Attorney Joe Khan has accepted the report’s recommendation that the District Attorney’s Office work to bridge the gap between law enforcement and the people we serve. Over the next 45 days, DA Khan and members of the Office will engage in conversations with the Quakertown community. At the end of this period, the Office will release additional recommendations about how to move forward to help heal these rifts.
"Our office did what prosecutors must always do without fear or favor: follow the facts, apply the law, and exercise sound judgment and discretion," said District Attorney Khan. "But no criminal investigation alone can heal the trauma and pain the Quakertown community suffered five months ago. Our hope is that this report will serve as an important first step in providing a framework for healing. It's important to remember the events leading up to the protests in Quakertown. Kids across Bucks County, including my own, learned of the horror of civilians like Renee Goode and Alex Pretti being shot and killed in the streets of Minneapolis by ICE and Border Protection agents. Young people witnessed their immigrant neighbors living in fear. Bucks County students raised their voices and spoke up about the grievous injustices they saw. It's true that some students broke the law, though most protested and exercised their 1st amendment rights peacefully. It's also true that the police chief made terrible mistakes even as most officers acted with professionalism and restraint that day. The heavy-handed actions of ICE nationwide have caused stress between law enforcement and the communities they serve. We saw that reflected in so much of the footage we reviewed of the protest. For many folks, it was traumatic to see front page images of a law enforcement officer with his arm around the neck of a teenage girl who was protesting ICE. That is why it is important for our Office to explain our findings and to engage the community in a meaningful dialogue in the weeks ahead. Now that our investigation is complete, I will be working with organizations like The Peace Center which will be holding Listening Circles throughout the month of August. Over the next 45 days, we will engage with the community to facilitate the process of healing and strengthening trust in our local police, whose difficult jobs have been made even harder by the distrust that ICE has sown across the country. To that end, we will also be speaking with law enforcement, including the Quakertown Police, to discuss how we can work together to promote healing, safety and accountability. We will then present our recommendations for reforms that will protect us from harm and keep us more safe."
The full 20-page investigative memorandum detailing the complete factual timeline, evidence analysis, and legal findings is available on the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office website and Crimewatch page.
