Delavan Police Message RE: Rumors of violence involving clowns
**** Public Information Bulletin ****
To: Students, parents, and residents of Delavan & Darien
From: Officer Christopher Kristalidis, School Resource Officer – Phoenix Middle School
Date: Monday, October 10, 2016
Re: Rumors of violence involving clowns
This is being put out for public information regarding the recent talk of clowns coming and wreaking havoc in our city, and possibly posing a security risk to our schools.
Our department, School Resource Officers (SRO’s), and school staff have recently been bombarded with concerns about supposed clown attacks, specifically targeting our schools. As reluctant as I am to give this hysteria more publicity then it deserves, it is important that students and parents feel comfortable knowing that the security of our various district school buildings is of the utmost importance to us.
Our district has a wide variety of security measures in place to maintain a safe learning environment. These include (but are not limited to) sworn police officers on site, access control of persons entering any of the school buildings, video surveillance, and a WAVE Instant Notification Alert System.
Our department has yet to come across any credible threat of a clown attack. This city has a long and rich clown history, being the birthplace of the Barnum and Bailey Circus. We hope that these supposed evil clowns do not tarnish our city’s enjoyable clown history.
Should any credible threat come to light, I assure you that it will be thoroughly investigated and appropriately dealt with. And if it poses a threat to any of the district school buildings, student and parents will be made aware of any pertinent details.
Please help us dispel these rumors by reassuring your children that we live in a very safe community and that safety and security of the schools is one of our top priorities.
Thank you for your assistance in this matter! If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact any of the district administrators or department School Resource Officers.
Respectfully,
Officer Christopher Kristalidis, #575 Patrol Officer • School Resource Officer
