On the 1st floor of the Historic Phoenix City Hall, at 2nd Avenue and Jefferson Street, you'll find the Phoenix Police Museum. Step closer and you’re face to face with a local story that begins in 1881, when Henry Garfias was elected the city’s first marshal, and carries forward to the present. Inside, the museum highlights that continuous history and even explains the connection between the Phoenix Police and the Miranda Rights.
You can move through cases of artifacts gathered from the community and try the educational, interactive exhibits designed for hands-on participation. The museum itself grew out of a temporary six-month display staged in October 1993 at the Historic Phoenix City Hall at 17 S. Second Ave., a display that drew a favorable public response. That response, petitions from groups such as the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association to the Arizona Humanities Council, and a study that proved enough material existed all led volunteers and donations from local companies to build a permanent space.
Finally, the museum opened its doors on October 6, 1995. Notice the Historic Phoenix City Hall around this collection, and imagine the steps — from a six-month trial display to a permanent museum — that brought these stories here.