Fundraising Begins For Wisconsin Law Enforcement Museum

A fundraising drive is underway for a museum proposed to be on the Capitol square in Madison that would highlight Wisconsin’s police officers. Backers of the plan hope it will open in two years.

Since launching the drive in May, the police associations behind the project have created a website and Facebook page that has already generated a lot support.

Jim Palmer, director of the statewide police union, heads the museum’s fund drive.

“We’ve been contact by people all cross the state who have submitted to us stories of relatives of theirs who perhaps died in the line of duty in 1939, or did something heroic in 1941,” said Palmer.

Palmer said the goal is both to honor police heroes and educate the public about the role of law enforcement in their communities, especially the technological aspects.

“We’d like to have a number of different exhibits, whether it’s a fingerprinting station that parents can bring their children to, or a squad car simulator or an interactive bomb robot,” said Palmer.

University of Wisconsin men’s basketball coach Bo Ryan has lent his name to the project by serving as the honorary chairman of the museum. The museum has a projected two-year budget of $800,000.