Secrets of the Museum

A year ago today, National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund President and CEO Craig W. Floyd braved frigid temperatures to complete a special mission.

Carrying a wooden box strapped to his back, he climbed 65 feet below the surface, down several ladders and into the construction site of the new National Law Enforcement Museum. Protected inside the box were rubbings containing the names of fallen officers from the Memorial.

The rubbings were part of a project from National Police Week in 2014. Visitors were asked to make extra rubbings of their loved one’s names so they could be placed in a capsule and embedded into the Museum.  Hundreds of rubbings were collected. On December 15, 2016, these treasured rubbings were carefully placed and sealed in the Museum’s foundation beneath the Museum’s Hall of Remembrance.

Visitors to the Memorial are encouraged to use the paper and pencils provided in the directory stands to make rubbings of fallen officers’ names. The Visitors Center & Store features a number of frames and holders for displaying rubbings from the Memorial.

As a member of the Honor Alliance, your benefits include a lifetime membership to the National Law Enforcement Museum, which opens next fall.  Share this valuable experience by purchasing an individual or family gift membership for a fellow active duty or retired law enforcement officer for just $100.

An Amazing Opportunity and an Amazing Intern

National Law Enforcement Museum Intern Shelbi Stovall

This month, the National Law Enforcement Museum says farewell to fall intern Shelbi Stovall. A graduate student at George Washington University, Shelbi has been instrumental in helping standardize and catalog a large amount of objects and information for the Museum.

"I appreciate the diversity. You get the chance to get a lot of things under your belt, not just data entry, and of course Lauren is wonderful," says Shelbi.

Museum Collections Manager Lauren Sydney has been supervising Shelbi throughout her internship and has been pleased to have someone so dedicated to the Museum to assist her efforts to manage an extensive collection of more than 18,000 artifacts.

Splitting her time between the Museum office and the Museum’s storage facility, Shelbi has concentrated her work on preparing exhibit installations. Among her many responsibilities, she has gathered information on objects slated for display, such as the locations, dimensions and conditions of each item. She has also cataloged new acquisitions, uploaded photos to the Museum’s collection database and helped with the de-installation of a small exhibit in the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund Washington, DC administrative office.

Shelbi recently put a great deal of effort into standardizing a huge catalog of information and evidence related to the DC Sniper collection. On long-term loan to the Museum from the Prince William County (VA) Police Department, the collection includes more than 1,000 records. Additionally, Shelbi cataloged and photographed a collection of nearly 300 law enforcement badges that were donated to the Museum last month.

"In 50 years, because of the things I’m doing right now, we’ll have these objects – it’s really powerful," says Shelbi.

The Museum operates regular internship programs that provide students with work opportunities in various aspects of non-profit organization and operations, as well as museum programs. For more information, contact Colleen Ludgate, at cludgate@nleomf.org.

Sneak Peak at Officers' Stories

“In that moment I knew…sign me up for this. Sign me up to be proud to work for the federal court system.”

- Supervisory U.S. Probation Officer Amber R. Lupkes, Northern District of Iowa

Supervisory U.S. Probation Officer Amber R. Lupkes
Northern District of Iowa

What’s it like to walk in the shoes of a real law enforcement officer? The museum team, along with the renowned Richard Lewis Media Group, just finished interviewing several pre-trial and probation officers to find out. Their personal journeys will be part of the Museum’s interactive “Officers’ Stories” exhibit featuring a diverse collection of stories from law enforcement officers from across the country. Hear in their own words what it’s like to be a law enforcement professional. Here’s one officer’s story:

“The judge I worked for at that point was a Magistrate Judge, who is now a Chief Judge in the Southern District of Iowa. There was a day that was a little slow, so I had the opportunity to go sit in on a courtroom and listen to the sentencing of a defendant that was being sentenced on a new case. I had never been in this courtroom, never been in front of this judge…and as I sat there the judge was reading a pre-sentence report.

The judge made note and looked at the defendant and said, ‘you have a long list of violence against women. I’ve honestly never seen as much violence against women as you have. I would like you to stand and address the court and explain to me the reason for this.’ He stood up, without missing a beat, he looked at the judge and said, ‘I’ve just met all the wrong women.’ And that judge looked at him and said, ‘You’ve just met another one.’ His defense attorney grabbed his jumpsuit and was like ‘Sit down now.’

“In that moment I knew…sign me up for this. Sign me up to be proud to work for the federal court system.”

—Supervisory U.S. Probation Officer Amber R. Lupkes, Northern District of Iowa

Pop Culture Meets the Real Deal in Reel to Real

Actor Vincent D'Onofrio and Boston (MA) Police Superintendent-in-Chief William Gross

It would be great if all crimes could be solved in a mere 60 minutes like they are on television, but we all know that’s not the case. One of the most exciting exhibits at the new National Law Enforcement Museum promises to be Reel to Real. Actor and long-time supporter of the National Law Enforcement Museum Vincent D’Onofrio, recently sat down with Boston (MA) Police Superintendent-in-Chief William Gross for a discussion about the real-life scenarios that have inspired some of our favorite scenes in movies and television.
Visitors will get to see this lively discussion in our new Cop Critique Theater when the museum opens next fall. Our staff recently invited many Museum Insider subscribers to weigh in on their favorite law enforcement show, fictional cop, best police chase and more. Those responses will be used as part of an interactive exhibit just outside the Cop Critique Theater. Did your favorite make the list? Stop by when the museum opens and see for yourself.
Museum goers will also be able to spend time browsing artifacts curated from pop culture such as a Dick Tracy wrist radio from the well-liked comic strip that debuted in 1931 or a sweatshirt worn by the character Jack Bauer from Fox Network’s 24. The Reel to Real exhibit promises a bit of nostalgia and pop culture for everyone.

History's Blotter: First Publicly Gay NYC Police Officer | November 20, 1981

“I am very proud of being a New York City policeman.
And I am equally proud of being gay.”

—Sgt. Charles H. Cochrane, November 20, 1981.

With those words, Sergeant Charles H. Cochrane, Jr. became the first publicly gay New York City police officer. The 14-year veteran of the New York (NY) Police Department testified before the New York City Council on November 20, 1981 as the council debated whether to pass a gay rights bill banning discrimination against gays in employment, housing and public accommodations.

The bill did not pass, but Cochrane’s testimony did make an impact. His decision to come out publicly was one he struggled with for months. “Most officers told me not to do it, that it would ruin my career.” He spoke to a gay community leader who warned Cochrane that he might be labeled “The Gay Cop.”  Undeterred, Cochrane decided to testify. A year later, he revealed in an interview that he had lost one close friend in the department, but that most reaction had been supportive.

In 1982, Cochrane co-founded the Gay Officers Action League, or GOAL. It was one of the first organizations providing support and advocacy for LBGTQ law enforcement professionals.  Cochrane retired from the NYPD five years later. In 2016, the city of New York decided to honor his advocacy and commitment to public service by renaming a street in his honor.

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HISTORY'S BLOTTER
A look back in time at a moment in law enforcement history

For a long time, if you entered any police or sheriff’s department in the country, you would be greeted at the front desk by a sergeant presiding over a large bound book. Everyone who came into the station, every call patrolmen answered—it was all documented in that book, called a blotter. The National Law Enforcement Museum has acquired blotters from all across the United States. They are an important part of our collection—teeming with information about day-to-day law enforcement activities and touching on national events as they affected specific agencies.

Teddy Roosevelt, College Football, & Civil Service Reform

NYPD Commissioner Theodore Roosevelt in 1895

“If there is any one thing which I believe in even more than in football, it is civil service reform, and I am delighted to find that you are so actively connected with both.”

- Commissioner Theodore Roosevelt to E.E. Garrison, Esq. of the Yale Foot Ball Association

With football season well underway, the National Law Enforcement Museum thought it would be fun to share this gem from our collection. Written during Theodore Roosevelt’s time as Police Commissioner (1895-1897), this letter reveals a bit about his personality and interests. It is one of a series of correspondence between Roosevelt and E.E. Garrison, Esq. of the Yale University Foot Ball Association.

Collection of the National Law Enforcement Museum, 2006.282.1.1
View larger image

Before becoming the 26th President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt served as the President of the New York City Board of Police Commissioners. A strong proponent of civil service reform at a time when corruption in the NYPD ran deep, Roosevelt worked to clean up the department and the city.

Another subject which Roosevelt was passionate about, was the game of football. So much so, that in 1905, as President, he invited coaches and athletic advisers from Harvard University (his alma mater), Yale University (Harvard’s biggest rival), and Princeton University to the White House to discuss improving the game to make it safer and ensure its longevity. At the time, there were no professional football leagues, and eighteen players died from football injuries that same year. One outcome of the White House meetings was the formation of an intercollegiate committee in 1906 (a precursor to the NCAA) which began changing the rules. This resulted in a sport that more closely resembles football as we know it today.

Oral History Interviews in Arizona

Retired Phoenix (AZ) police officer Cecelia Chavez interviews with the National Law Enforcement Museum

Last month the National Law Enforcement Museum conducted oral history filming in Phoenix, Arizona. Staff scheduled in-depth interviews with two retired Phoenix (AZ) Police Department officers for the museum’s archives. The first was with Cecelia Chavez, the first female officer to join the department in 1969. The second interview was with Carroll Cooley, who arrested Ernesto Miranda in 1963. The arrest led to the landmark court case Miranda v Arizona deciding that law enforcement must instruct suspects in custody of their right to remain silent and seek an attorney.

In 1969, the Phoenix (AZ) Police Department issued Officer Chavez this policewoman’s purse.
National Law Enforcement Museum, 2011.41.1

While in Phoenix, the museum invited sworn law enforcement in the surrounding area to be filmed for possible inclusion in the forthcoming exhibit, Officers Stories. This exhibit will introduce the general public to the diverse experiences of American law enforcement in officers’ own words. The stories will vary from serious and poignant to humorous and unexpected. Come see Officers Stories at the National Law Enforcement Museum when it opens next year!