PHILADELPHIA — Some residents in the Philadelphia suburb of Quakertown are calling for the police chief to resign after a fight between police and high school students protesting immigration enforcement policies led to several juveniles being detained for four days.
A video circulating online shows an older man in street clothes approaching a group of young protesters outside a delicatessen and putting his arm around a teenage girl’s neck as other teens swing on him and fall to the ground.
Some residents identified the man as Police Chief Scott McElree, 72, who also serves as the district manager. The man can be seen speaking to other officers at the scene after the fight before getting into the car. McElree did not respond to messages left Tuesday by The Associated Press at his home and workplace.
In a statement Friday, the Quakertown Police Department said five or six protesters were detained after the group committed acts of vandalism while protesting immigration and custody measures across the country. The group organized a walkout from Quakertown Community High School.
The police statement said: “Some participants began to engage in disruptive behavior, including throwing snowballs at vehicles, kicking cars, and damaging property, such as ripping a side mirror off a vehicle. Officers issued additional warnings to preserve civility.”
The students — who were detained throughout the weekend and again on Monday when a snowstorm closed district offices — were scheduled to appear in juvenile court Tuesday for bail hearings, according to the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office. The hearings were closed to the public, and no further information was immediately available.
Calls left Tuesday to other district officials, and to the school district superintendent, were not immediately returned.
Speakers at Monday evening’s town hall meeting called for the students’ release, and more than 9,000 people signed an online petition calling for the president’s resignation. Quakertown is located about 35 miles north of Philadelphia, and has a population of about 9,300.