Talk of the Sound was first to report that on Thursday October 28th an unidentified person described only as “male black man dressed in a grey top and possible grey bottom” entered Barnard School without permission and wandered around the building unchallenged for over and hour and perhaps up to three hours before school officials notified police.
Based on interviews with sources, police records and a brief discussion with Barnard School Principal Patricia Lambert, Talk of the Sound has confirmed that Lambert failed to follow the school district lock down/lock out procedure thereby putting students and school staff in danger. She then made false reports to parents, informing them that the “intruder” was only observed outside the building. She told Talk of the Sound that “no one had seen the intruder”, a statement contradicted by the report she filed with the New Rochelle Police in which she tells the responding officer that three people observed the man in the building.
Lambert did not come to school the day after the Talk of the Sound story first ran. She was a no-show at a PTA meeting the following Monday. No school official attended the meeting where the issue of the intruder was taken up by PTA members.
Since then various explanations have been floated by school officials and apologists with the PTA — that the police were called twice (once at noon and later at 3 PM), that the intruder entered a side door near Amy’s Greenhouse (this to avoid explaining how an unknown person was able to walk through the front door and wander around), that the man was a step-parent (this to minimize the perceived threat). This is all part of a typical fog and smoke approach to muddy the water and put the incident as far into the rearview mirror as possible without having to be accountable for a major security breach.
To put an and to this deception, below is the exchange between Talk of the Sound and the Records Access Officer for the New Rochelle Police Department along with the Event Report on file with NRPD.
Captain Kealy,
This is a public records request.
I just came from a meeting with Mrs. Lambert, the principal at Barnard School who confirmed to me that there was a report of an intruder in the building at Barnard School last Thursday. She said the school was put on lockdown and the police were called. She said she filed an incident report. I am phrasing this carefully because I have three sources telling me that the school was NOT put on lockdown and she specifically instructed staff NOT to call police. My sources tell me that the incident occurred about 1-2 PM.
I would like to obtain a copy of the incident report from this intruder incident at the school.
Where possible I would like records in electronic format. If possible, I would like the electronic documents converted into standard Microsoft Office format (Word, Excel, etc.). I would like all communications including the delivery of documents to take place via email as much as is possible based on the nature of the available records.. I would like the Records Access Officer to certify that the records are genuine. If the documents only exist in paper form I am willing to pay. If the cost of converting the documents to a standard electronic format or making photos copies exceeds $20.00 I would like prior notification of the estimated cost to comply with this records request.
Robert Cox
Managing Editor
New Rochelle’s Talk of the Sound
http://www.newrochelletalk.com
Here is Captain Kealy’s response:
Attached is the event dispatch sheet for the suspicious person reported at Barnard School on Thursday, October 28,2010. be advised that the incident report cannot be e-mailed. Advise if you wish the incident report which is identified as ebvent # 65417-10.
Attached PDF File: NRPD Incident Report Barnard School 2010-1028.pdf
There is one report, not two, because there was just the one call. Readers can click the link above and see for themselves that Talk of the Sound has accurately reported the information filed by Lambert with NRPD and that this information is not consistent with what parent were told. It also clearly indicates that police did not arrive until roughly 90 minutes after the initial reported contact. There is no indication the school was put on lock down and sources have disputed Lambert’s claim that this was done. Regardless, the failure to contact police after the initial contact, the second and immediately after the third contact is a blatant disregard for the lock down/lock out policy on file with the New York State Education Department.
Meanwhile, sources tell Talk of the Sound, F.U.S.E. officials are also seeking to obtain recordings of robo-calls made by Lambert and any notes sent home after the incident but before the Talk of the Sound story ran to confirm that we reported — that Patricia Lambert lied to parents by telling them the man was only observed outside the building.
Word is there is another Barnard PTA Meeting scheduled soon. I hope the PTA will insist that Principal Lambert attend and that just one parent will ask her to explain the discrepancies between what she told parents on October 28th and what she told police earlier that day. I further hope that someone will come forward with a voice mail recording of Lambert’s message and the document she sent home. Lastly, as a parent who had two