D202 High School Teacher's Artwork Displayed At Police Department

PLAINFIELD, IL — A teacher at Plainfield School District 202 for 13 years, Lindsey Brown was asked pre-pandemic to create a mural that represents the history of the Plainfield Police Department.

Now, a three-panel mural is on display at the department's Branch Court lobby, 14300 S. Coil Drive. The mural, painted in varying shades of red, blue and yellow, replaces a 96-square-foot mural by Plainfield Central High School Dean Tod Schnowske installed in 2012.

Brown, an art teacher at Plainfield Central, was approached by Plainfield Police Sgt. Colin Mulacek, who oversees all the school resource and DARE officers in District 202, about creating a police-themed mural.

"[He] gave me a few old photos to use and from there I made the three-panel artwork," she said in a statement.

According to Tom Hernandez, the district's director of community relations, Police Chief John Konopek wanted the artwork to represent the department's history. To Mulacek, the artist did just that.

"[She] tied old patches into the whole thing, she did a nice job," Mulacek said in a statement.

By being on display in a public location, Brown said her displayed work shows students to a real-life application of art.

The artwork not only highlights the high school's art department, but it also shows the "outstanding" relationship between Disitrct 202 and the police department, according to Mulacek.

The police department isn't the only place Brown's artwork is showcased. Her work also hangs in Plainfield Central's baseball dugout and on the walls in the school's staff lounge.