PALM BAY, Fla. (WFLA) — There will be no more clowning around for one man who was caught trespassing at a Palm Bay, Florida, shopping center, police said Wednesday.
According to the Palm Bay Police Department, officers were called to the shopping center after a man who allegedly had been trespassed and was no longer allowed to be in the area showed up dressed as a clown.
“What do you call someone who returns to a shopping plaza after they’ve been Trespassed? ….a clown,” the police department wrote in a social media post.
Donning a bright yellow suit with white and red striped sleeves, the man easily could have been mistaken for McDonald’s iconic mascot. However, two characteristics distinguished him from the popular clown: his unshaven face and a patch on the front of his suit.
Where a patch with the fast-food restaurant’s golden arches normally would have been, the man instead had a patch depicting a human skull. His outfit was topped off with a red clown nose.
But when officers approached him, no one seemed to find the situation very funny.
Body cam video showed the suspect and officers getting into a scuffle as they tried to remove him from the property. Officers eventually got the suspect on the ground and placed him in handcuffs.
“You look like a clown,” one officer said to him as he was placed into the back of a patrol car.
“I am a clown, stupid,” the suspect responded.
Investigators also searched a bag that the man had with him, revealing a pack of cigarettes, a box full of clown noses, and more clown clothing.
“Everyone has a right to feel safe in public spaces,” the police department said. “We’re committed to addressing those who repeatedly refuse to respect that.”