By Greg Risling, The Associated Press
Los Angeles (AP) -- The sight of two life-size mannequins toting machine guns and wearing bloodstained body armor has brought gasps from children and tears from tough cops.
The figures at the Los Angeles Police Department Museum depict the two heavily armed bank robbers who fired thousands of shots before being killed by officers during a North Hollywood shootout in 1997.
The televised gun battle was a historic event for the LAPD, which soon began issuing automatic weapons to officers to keep them from being outgunned.
It quickly joined the list of other sensational LAPD cases that have captured the attention of the nation and are now being depicted at the museum.
Former LAPD chief and current Councilman Bernard Parks said the department also was the first in the United States to open a crime lab, use radios and establish an internal affairs unit.
“There is universal interest in this department,” Parks said about the need for the museum. “It’s far more appreciated from a distance than a local level.”
For decades, the LAPD’s handling of high-profile cases like the Charles Manson murders -- combined with its positive portrayal in movies and TV shows like “Dragnet” and “Adam-12" -- helped it develop an image as honest and hardworking.
In recent years, however, that reputation has been tarnished by real-life dramas such as the Rodney King beating and a corruption scandal in which rogue officers planted evidence, shot innocent people and lied in court.
Museum organizers said none of those problems will be off-limits as they chronicle the history of the department.
“We’ve had our share of bumps and grinds, and we will reflect that,” said David Dalton, a retired police sergeant and the museum’s executive director.
The museum was opened last year by the Los Angeles Police Historical Society in a closed station about five miles (eight kilometers) northeast of downtown. Arsonists set the empty building ablaze in 1990, but the brick walls and jail cells remained intact.
It cost more than $5.5 million to turn the police station into a museum. Its initial exhibits involve a mix of high-profile cases and memorable Hollywood moments.
In one corner is an ax used by Fred Stroble to kill 6-year-old Linda Joyce Glucoft in 1949 -- a case that made headlines in its day. Stroble was later convicted and executed.
In another spot is the original script of the TV show “Dragnet” and the badge of fictional LAPD Sgt. Joe Friday, played by actor-director Jack Webb. The show ran from 1951 to 1959 and then was reincarnated in 1967-1970.
The museum’s most ambitious exhibit is the North Hollywood shooting. With red police lights spinning overhead, visitors can compare the large arsenal of weapons used by the gunmen to the small cache of service revolvers carried by police officers.
Dalton said some of the officers involved in the shootout have wept after seeing the display.
“It’s pretty powerful stuff,” he said.
LAPD policy allows evidence to be released to the historical society if there are no pending court appeals or other legal issues. The society is currently working to obtain items connected to the Symbionese Liberation Army, the notorious band of radicals who kidnapped newspaper heiress Patty Hearst in 1973.
Future exhibits will include a crime scene; jail cells where five inmates talk about their convictions; and a Krispy Kreme kiosk and gift store to play off the stereotype of doughnut-loving cops.
The most important endeavor is creating a memorial to the nearly 200 officers killed in the line of duty. Visitors will learn about the officers’ lives -- in and out of uniform.
“The focus will not only be a tribute to each officer, but to also put a life behind that name,” Dalton said.
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Associated Press writer Jeremiah Marquez contributed to this report.