Overview
- The clash began during a student anti-ICE walkout on Feb. 20, 2026, and left multiple students and officers injured while prompting five teenagers to be arrested.
- On Aug. 3, 2026 the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office closed its months-long probe and found no legal basis to charge Chief Scott McElree or other officers.
- The DA dismissed the most serious counts against the five juveniles and directed them into diversion programs designed to lead to expungement of their records.
- The report sharply criticized McElree’s tactics as a 'calamitous decision' that disrupted the protest even as an outside expert cited by the DA concluded his use of force fell within legal limits.
- Investigators relied heavily on bystander video because several officers, including McElree, were not wearing body cameras and the department had not adopted Bucks County’s 2020 use-of-force policies, so the DA ordered immediate policy adoption and a timeline to help restore community trust.