Yesterday, Martine and I drove to the L.A. Police Department Museum in Highland Park. When we were in Vancouver some years back, we visited the local police museum and were enthralled with what it said about the differences in Canadian vs. U.S. culture (or lack of same).

The 2½ floors of exhibits covered a wide range of subjects, but the best exhibits were all on the second floor:

• The 1997 robbery of a Bank of America branch and the ensuing gunfight with the two well-armed burglars
• The Patty Hearst kidnapping and the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) terrorists (1973-1976)
• The kidnapping of two LAPD police officers and the killing of one of them in a Kern County onion field (1963)

In the garage of the museum were two cars with multiple bullet holes that were part of the 1997 shootout. Also there was a police helicopter which Martine sat in:

The museum was only a few blocks east of one of our favorite stores: The Galco Soda Pop Stop, which deserves a post of its own. Stay tuned.