Secret Service Artifacts, Photos, & More on Display at National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Visitors Center & Store

Exhibit on Display January 16-February 15, 2013

In honor of the 57th Presidential Inauguration this year in Washington, DC, the National Law Enforcement Museum will feature a special temporary exhibit beginning Wednesday, January 16, at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Visitors Center & Store (located 400 7th Street NW at the corner of 7th & D Streets NW).

In this exhibit you will find rare Inaugural badges from the Museum’s collection along with some Secret Service gear, on loan from the agency. You'll also find lots of visitors picking up their commemorative inaugural badges, pins and coins in addition to other Memorial Fund gifts.

Stop by to learn about two of the agencies responsible for protecting the President on Inauguration Day—the United States Secret Service and the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, DC.

Inauguration Day Facts

While Museum staff prepared for the Inaugural exhibit, currently on display at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Visitors Center & Store, we learned a few interesting facts about one of the most memorable parts of Inauguration Day: the parade down DC’s Pennsylvania Avenue.

1944 Inaugural parade (President Franklin D. Roosevelt)

What do you know about this festive tradition?

1957 Inaugural parade (President Dwight D. Eisenhower)

Did you know ... ?

• The first Inaugural parade to take place in the new capital city of Washington was during Thomas Jefferson's first Inauguration in 1801.

• President Woodrow Wilson’s second Inaugural parade (1917) was the first to include women.

• Today, law enforcement personnel stand shoulder to shoulder along the parade route, when they used to stand at least 20 feet apart from one another.

2009 Inaugural parade (President Barack Obama)

• Both military personnel and law enforcement officials line the Inaugural parade route for protection.

• During the parade, military personnel face the president while law enforcement faces the people.

Learn more about the history of the Inaugural parade.

10 New Year's Resolutions Law Enforcement Thinks You Should Keep

A (satirical) list of resolutions to live by in 2013.

1. I will improve my artistic abilities in the New Year, but will not do so by painting obscene words on the sides of public buildings and traffic signs.
   
   
2. If pulled over for a traffic violation, I will not ask the trooper if s/he knows this other trooper I’ve met in the past whose name I can’t recall.
   
   
3. I will not ask a deputy for directions and then disagree with the directions given because the GPS says otherwise.
   
   
4. I will not walk up to officers who are eating and proceed to ask them if they are eating.
   
   
5. I will lose weight this year, but will not attempt to do so by running from the cops.
   
   
6. I resolve to spend more time with my family and friends. Being in jail together does not count.
   
   
7. I will be more punctual, but won't use patrol cars with sirens as my personal escorts.
   
   
8. I resolve to never tell a deputy/officer that I pay his or her salary.
   
   
9. If I see a police officer at Dunkin’ Donuts, I will not laugh out loud. Only on the inside.
   
   
10. I will stop pretending to "understand the law" because I watch a lot of Law & Order.

Thank you to Officer Eric Bohrer, Inver Grove Heights (MN) Police Department & Marshal Bill Swank, Department of Homeland Security, Federal Air Marshal Service, Cleveland Field Office for helping with this list.