• Visit
    • Museum Accessibility
    • Community Access
    • Group Visits and Tours
    • Programs
      • History Café
      • MOHAI Mercantile Literary Series
      • First Thursday
      • Denny Lecture
      • Al Young Educator of the Year
      • Everyday Heroes
    • MOHAI Mercantile
    • Gourmondo at MOHAI
  • Exhibits
  • Events
  • Collections and Research
    • Collections Search
    • Themed Collections
    • Research Library
    • Image Ordering
    • Donate an Artifact
    • Curator’s Fellowship
  • Support
    • Donate
    • Membership at MOHAI
    • Gift Memberships
    • Corporate Support
  • Education
    • Field Trips
      • Self-Guided School Year Explorations
      • Creating Our Community
      • Cracking the History Code: Salish Stories
      • Cracking the History Code: Settling Around the Sound
      • Hands on History
      • Self-Guided Summer Field Trips
      • Homeschool Group
    • Portable Museum Program
    • Scholarships
    • Education FAQ
    • Primary Source Analysis
    • Online Curricula
    • Teen Programs
    • Idea Lab
    • Discovery Packs
    • Summer Camps
  • About
    • Annual Reports
    • The MOHAI Blog
    • Contact MOHAI
    • Opportunities
    • Leadership
    • Private Events
  • Donate
  • Tickets
  • Membership
HomeCollections and ResearchCollections Search

Collections Search

Explore stories in Northwest history through highlights from MOHAI’s collections. Search by keyword below or browse the entire online collection by entering the asterisk symbol (*). Filter your search by type of materials.

Download lower resolution images directly from an item page. MOHAI offers high-resolution digital reproductions of photographs and other materials from our collections for personal and professional use.

We have many more items in our collections and not everything you see online is on view at the museum. We have additional materials online at the University of Washington’s Digital Collections.

MOHAI Statement on Harmful Content

Search by Collection

Not finding what you are looking for?
Ask the MOHAI Collections Staff

178 results for: Police and Law Enforcement

Share:
Image of Ron Johnson and John Caughlan at protest rally, Seattle, March 2, 1975
Photograph

Ron Johnson and John Caughlan at protest rally, Seattle, March 2, 1975

In this image, Seattle Black Panther Party member Ron Johnson and attorney and civil libertarian John Caughlan speak at a rally protesting the shooting death of Joe Hebert, a 22-year old Black man killed by a Seattle police officer on February 15. Caughlan was the attorney for the Hebert family, and Ron Johnson was head of the "Justice for Joe…
ID Number:2000.107.100.18.01
Date:1975
Image of Ron Johnson speaking at rally on killing of Joseph Hebert, Seattle, March 6, 1975
Photograph

Ron Johnson speaking at rally on killing of Joseph Hebert, Seattle, March 6, 1975

In this image, Seattle Black Panther Party representative Ron Johnson speaks at a Central Area rally protesting the shooting death of Joe Hebert, a 22-year old Black man killed by a Seattle police officer. Johnson was Minister of Information for the Black Panthers, and the head of the "Justice for Joe Committee" organized by the Party. Caption information source: "Fire…
ID Number:2000.107.100.18.02
Date:1975
Image of Roberto Maestas being escorted out of mayor's office, Seattle, April 5, 1973
Photograph

Roberto Maestas being escorted out of mayor's office, Seattle, April 5, 1973

Seattle had a growing Latino population in the late 1960s, and activists had been pressing the city for a building in which to establish a Chicano community center. Tired of having their requests ignored, in October 1972 they took over the abandoned Beacon Hill School on 16th Avenue South and renamed it El Centro de la Raza. After a 75-day…
ID Number:2000.107.117.04.02
Date:1973
Image of Toni McWashington, October 18, 1991
Photograph

Toni McWashington, October 18, 1991

In 1991, Seattle Police Department (SPD) Lieutenant Toni McWashington, who had developed the department's racial and cultural sensitivity training program, was placed in command of the Internal Investigation Section. The job change came with a promotion in rank, to police captain, making McWashington the highest-ranking minority police officer in Washington state, and the second-highest-ranking woman in the SPD. McWashington, who…
ID Number:2000.107.123.26.01
Date:1991
Image of Rosa Melendez at SPD East precinct, December 2, 1992
Photograph

Rosa Melendez at SPD East precinct, December 2, 1992

Rosa M. Melendez worked in law-enforcement for 25 years, including 17 years with the Seattle Police Department (SPD) (1976-1994), where she worked in the Patrol Division, Personnel Division, Internal Investigations Unit, Community Service Section and on the U.S. Department of Justice's Weed and Seed grant-funded program. She was the first woman of color on the Seattle Police Department to be…
ID Number:2000.107.124.03.01
Date:1992
Image of Rosa Melendez at SPD East precinct, December 2, 1992
Photograph

Rosa Melendez at SPD East precinct, December 2, 1992

Rosa M. Melendez worked in law-enforcement for 25 years, including 17 years with the Seattle Police Department (SPD) (1976-1994), where she worked in the Patrol Division, Personnel Division, Internal Investigations Unit, Community Service Section and on the U.S. Department of Justice's Weed and Seed grant-funded program. She was the first woman of color on the Seattle Police Department to be…
ID Number:2000.107.124.03.02
Date:1992
Image of Rev. Dr. John H. Adams with Freedom Patrol members at CORE headquarters, Seattle, July 24, 1965
Photograph

Rev. Dr. John H. Adams with Freedom Patrol members at CORE headquarters, Seattle, July 24, 1965

On July 24, 1965, police on the night beat in five Seattle areas began to be trailed by shadows--civilian teams of two wearing large cardboard badges labeled "Freedom Patrol." The immediate provocation that led to the formation of the Freedom Patrol was the fatal shooting of a Black man, Robert L. Reese, by off-duty Seattle policeman Harold J. Larsen in…
ID Number:2000.107.131.21.01
Date:1965
Image of Anti-discrimination march, Seattle, June 15, 1963
Photograph

Anti-discrimination march, Seattle, June 15, 1963

On Sunday, June 15, 1963, a group of over 1000 Black and white protesters, led by Rev. Mance Jackson and other Black clergymen, marched quietly from Mount Zion Baptist Church in the Central District in an anti-discrimination "freedom march" through downtown Seattle. The event ended at Westlake Mall, with a rally and a program of speakers. Organized by the Congress…
ID Number:2000.107.131.21.09
Date:1963
Image of Freedom Patrol members leaving CORE headquarters, Seattle, July 24, 1965
Photograph

Freedom Patrol members leaving CORE headquarters, Seattle, July 24, 1965

On July 24, 1965, police on the night beat in five Seattle areas began to be trailed by shadows--civilian teams of two wearing large cardboard badges labeled "Freedom Patrol." The immediate provocation that led to the formation of the Freedom Patrol was the fatal shooting of a Black man, Robert L. Reese, by off-duty Seattle policeman Harold J. Larsen in…
ID Number:2000.107.131.21.21
Date:1965
Image of Western Governors Conference demonstration, July 31, 1969
Photograph

Western Governors Conference demonstration, July 31, 1969

In July 1969, a group of Seattle Community College students protested outside the Washington Plaza Hotel, where the Western Governors' Conference was in session. The students, most members of the Black Student Union (BLU) or the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), objected to the appointment by Governor Dan Evans of Marvin Glass to the Board of Trustees of the…
ID Number:2000.107.131.22.02
Date:1969
Previous 1 … 6 7 8 9 10 … 18 Next

Land Acknowledgement

MOHAI stands on the historic and contemporary lands and shores of the Duwamish, Suquamish, Muckleshoot, and other Coast Salish Nations. We acknowledge the forced displacement of Native Communities from this land while honoring the endurance of the Duwamish people who still live here.
Address: 860 Terry Ave N, Seattle WA, 98109
Phone: 206 324 1126
  • Plan a Visit
  • Directions and Parking
  • Accessibility
  • Group Tours
  • About

Sign up to Receive our Newsletter

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright 2026, Museum of History & Industry. All Rights Reserved