Maeva Algayon is visiting the LA Police Museum with her two kids, ages 6 and 8.

"My son wanted to know more about Los Angeles police," she said.

Algayon's family moved here a couple years ago from France, where she says the police overall have a rougher reputation.

"There’s a difference between how we feel about police in France and in United States.  They are considered a hero here," she said.

But racial tensions have tarnished that heroic view for some living in communities of color.

Bob Taylor says the museum is a crucial part of helping to bridge the divide. 

"I think it creates a bond.  They realize policeman are just like anybody else," Taylor said.

He’s a volunteer and retired LAPD Commander who helped start the LA Police Historical Society (http://www.lapdonline.org/history_of_the_lapd/content_basic_view/1121) in 1989.  He stresses the non-profit group runs the museum independently from the LAPD and not take any city tax dollars.

It's a place filled with all kinds of artifacts and documents the evolution of the LAPD, founded in 1869.  Taylor regularly gives tours of the museum to kids on field trips as well as other groups.

For many officers such as Deputy Chief Blake Chow, it’s a fun blast from the past.

"The motorcycle behind me, when I first came on, that’s what motorcycle cops rode, so it’s almost like a walk down memory lane for me," he said.

But he feels the museum also carries more serious message.

"This museum gives not only officers, but it can give community members a perspective as to what happened, what shaped us, and how we got to where we are now," Chow said.

There’s an entire room devoted to the 1997 north Hollywood shootout, including the actual gear worn by the suspects.

"The North Hollywood shooting resulted in the LAPD getting semi-automatic weapons and actually implementing the patrol rifle program," Chow said.  And young officers may not known that."

"We’ve had people come in here that we arrested and housed in this jail, and they come back and visit the station and there’s no animosity or resentment," Taylor said.

He hopes the museum continues to be a welcoming place for everyone.  He says learning from mistakes will strengthen the police force and the people it serves.

"And so, what you do is you work with the community through those things.  You don’t become defensive or resistive.  You try to work with people." 

As for Maeva, when asked how she we would feel if her son became a police officer…

"We’ll talk about this later," she laughed.

For now, she says, he wants to be an astronaut.