The photograph is Washington police officer Bill Norton measuring the distance between the knee and the swimsuit.

Explore an old map of Washington in 1880 and discover the exact locations of the fire stations and police stations. Learn about the history of the city through this fascinating map.

Ulysses Grant was arrested for speeding by William West, an African-American metropolitan policeman. This is a great historical story.

Fascinating article of our blog's favorite hero Officer Sprinkle.

Thanks to a tweet, we came across an incredible photo of Officer Sprinkle and his brother from 1904. View the photo and learn more about it here!

Remembering Raymond B. Sprinkle, the beloved son of Police Officer Sprinkle. His obituary was recently shared by long-time GoDCer John. Read about the mass & interment with military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.

In March 1972, a metropolitan policeman was arrested in Washington D.C. and charged with the armed robbery of a practical nurse at the George Washington University Hospital. Read the incredible story here!

This is a wild story we dug up from the Washington Post. It was published on June 5th, 1938 and features a storybook arrest; two automobiles were struck by the fleeing motorist! With a photo from 1938, you can get a feel for the era. #WashingtonPost #StorybookArrest #June5th1938

Check out this amazing photograph from the Library of Congress, showing a traffic policeman at 14th and Pennsylvania, making use of a rearview mirror in the 1920s. Take a look and be mesmerized!

Learn the incredible story of Officer Sprinkle and how it led to the inspiration for our logo. Read the original biography from the 1908 Metropolitan Police Department's official history book, plus the original photo that inspired it!

Can you help us identify the person in this photograph? We take a closer look and see what clues we can find in this composite of a large group of policemen with the U.S. Capitol in the background.

This is an awesome photograph of Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department in 1922, on their motorcycles. (I’d hate to be the guy riding in the sidecar.) The photo was taken on April 26th, 1922. Photograph shows a group of motorcycle policemen, from left to right: “Sergt. J.E. Boyle, L.F. Reilly, W.D. Vaughn, F.S. Tyser, L.D. Redman, D.E. Gailmore, G.P. Waite, R.H. Mansfield,...

Step back in time and explore wild police chases in D.C. from the 1980s. Read about three of the most noteworthy, plus photos and newspaper clips. Learn something new about D.C. today!

Officer Sprinkle, the patron saint of Ghosts of DC, took a trip up to New York City with 21 contest winners from The Washington Post. Read the account of the dinner party at the iconic Waldorf-Astoria they attended prior to heading to Europe.

This is the incredible story of Private Paul J. McDuff, as published in the Washington Post in June 1949. Three brave policemen saved McDuff from plunging to his death from the ninth-floor ledge of the Willard Hotel, in a scene of suspense and drama. Read the full story here!

Where was Hell's Bottom in Washington, DC and what happened there? Here are three stories from lost history about the long-gone neighborhood.

On October 28th, 1957, the Washington Post reported on a bizarre incident where a man took a streetcar for an illegal joyride down Pennsylvania Ave. What happened next? Read this incredible story to find out!

On Capitol Hill a few blocks from the Eastern Market Metro Station is a relic of a time gone by, the Metropolitan Police Department's First District Substation. Read here to learn about the mysterious ghost seen on the video cameras at the station.

Minnesota representative Francis shoemaker was arrested outside of his house office by two detectives serving a warrant. He had assaulted a taxi cab driver.

On January 31st, 1925, police raided a restaurant on E Street in Washington DC and arrested 57 people for illegal dice games. 40 years later, the same block housed the American Gaming Association. Read the story of Louis Chipouras, arrested both times!

On February 28th 1934, the first liquor license was issued in Washington, D.C. after the Sheppard Bone-Dry Act of 1917 put a major damper on libations. Learn more about the repeal of Prohibition in D.C. and the National Press Club's first liquor license!

Get a glimpse of the wild side of DC in 1921 with this story of a police battle with a rum car! Read about the daring chase and thrilling battle between the detectives and bootleggers.

I came across an article in the Washington Times about three giants of the Washington police force … and I mean real “giants,” as in super tall cops. Well, super tall by standards back in 1903, not Gheorghe Muresan. Three giants of the Metropolitan Police Force – 1903 (Washington Times) Though these men do not eclipse GoDC favorite, Officer Sprinkle, our next “Three...

Discover this 1918 Metropolitan Police Department recruiting advertisement, which was seeking young men and women between 22 and 35 years of age. Read more to learn about this interesting World War I era ad!

Follow the story of Julius Daranyi, a midget traffic cop in Washington DC in 1924. Relive this unique moment in history, complete with original Washington Post article, photographs, and related articles.

To satisfy your hunger for more Officer Sprinkle, I took a look into where he lived in 1900. At the time, he was 34 years old, had been married to his wife Teresa for 10 years and had been working for the Washington police force for the same amount of time. The Sprinkle family lived at 1320 Florida Ave. NE, in the Trinidad neighborhood, just outside of the boundary of old Washington city. Zillow...

Take a look at the history of DC's police call boxes and hear a brief talk from Sgt. Nicholas Breul of DCPD. Learn more about the city's past with Ghosts of DC!

This is an odd story from the Washington Times. The paper reported on August 11th, 1908 the arrest of a young five-year-old. Yes, a little kid was arrested and it's a bizarre story. Learn more about the unusual arrest of five-year-old Gus Oputz in Washington D.C. in 1908.

Officer Sprinkle is a DCPD badass. Read all about his daring rescue of a wild love triangle in the Washington Post on January 31st, 1892. Get a daily dose of DCPD badass Officer Sprinkle and his heroic deeds.

Learn the story of Herbert Copeland, the last person to be executed by hanging in the District. Copeland was a cop killer who had murdered three policemen in cold blood in 1918. He was captured and eventually hanged in 1925, leaving behind a confession with details of his escape and other unsolved murders.