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Police: Guard the banks when Clinton in town JENNIFER JACOBS REGISTER STAFF WRITER Authorities are warning Iowa banks to take extra precautions today while former president Bill Clinton is around. “A criminal may believe all the law enforcement resources are dedicated elsewhere and see this as an opportunity to strike,” DeWitt Police Chief Gene Ellis wrote in an e-mail to security officers at financial institutions in his area. Clinton is making a stop in DeWitt this afternoon, and police there are beefing up their patrols around the banks this afternoon, Ellis wrote in the e-mail. Part of the concern stems from robberies in Davenport during the last election cycle. Three banks were robbed in one day in August 2004 when Democratic candidate John Kerry and President George Bush were both in town campaigning for president, said Davenport Police Sgt. Jeff Estlund. The robbers in 2004 apparently hoped to capitalize on security surrounding the simultaneous candidate visits. “I don’t think Clinton had anything to do with it,” Estlund said today. He added with a laugh: “He wasn’t a suspect.” --------------------------------------------------------------------------------