Motorola Solutions contributes $15 million to National Law Enforcement Museum (with related video)

Motorola Solutions and the Motorola Solutions Foundation contributed $15 million to the National Law Enforcement Museum that is under construction and expected to open in 2015.

Matt Blakely, director of the Motorola Solutions Foundation — the charitable arm of Motorola Solutions — said the contribution will be $10 million in cash from the foundation and $5 million worth of product and in-kind support from Motorola Solutions.

"When they brought the opportunity to us to help them build a museum honoring our nation's law-enforcement officers, we thought it was a fantastic way to continue to show our commitment to law enforcement overall," Blakely said during an interview with Urgent Communications. "We think it will greatly help the museum get started, engage the public and tell the story of law enforcement. We're very excited about it."

Craig Floyd, CEO and chairman of the National Law Enforcement Museum, said the museum — funded without taxpayer money — not only will feature tributes to past law-enforcement personnel, equipment and practices, it also will include interactive displays that will provide visitors with a glimpse of current and future law-enforcement capabilities.

These interactive stations will let visitors try to process information like a detective or act as a call-taker or dispatcher responding to a 911 call. Such exhibits not only can help the public better understand how law enforcement operates, it may help people realize some of the job opportunities associated with the profession, Floyd said.

"We believe this museum and the related educational programming that goes with it will be very helpful in impressing upon people the value of law enforcement in our society," Floyd said during an interview with Urgent Communications. "And, undoubtedly, I think it will get a lot of young people excited about the potential of becoming a law-enforcement officer as a career. … I think this is going to be a major recruiting tool for law enforcement throughout America."

Joe Urschel, executive director of the museum, echoed this sentiment, noting that he hopes that the museum dispels some myths about law enforcement that are created by movies, television shows and the news media.

"We will be able to show the visitor how law enforcement works, how the web of law enforcement is interconnected, and the different roles that people play," Urschel said during an interview with Urgent Communications. "This is something that is largely invisible to the average person, because they don't see it in operation.

"I think there are a lot of very exciting things about this museum that will get people interested in the profession … and how the stereotypical image of law enforcement is really not the full picture — there's so much more behind it."

In 2000, Congress and President Bill Clinton authorized the establishment of the museum. Urschel said that construction will begin in the spring of 2013 and should be completed in two years.

Learn more about the National Law Enforcement Museum at www.nleomf.org/museum/.

Related Video

The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund posted the above video about the National Law Enforcement Museum.