'I shot a policeman in the back - 20 years later we're friends'
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🚓Leroy Smith shot James Seymour in Brixton in 1993.
He fired three shots, one hit Met officer James' back and another struck his colleague Simon Carroll's leg.
Twenty years later and the pair are now good friends.
He fired three shots, one hit Met officer James' back and another struck his colleague Simon Carroll's leg.
Twenty years later and the pair are now good friends.
👮♂️They work together to influence younger generations of Londoners at risk of being involved in the violence which had a devastating impact on both of their lives.
📚Having been released from prison for a second time, Leroy decided writing a book could be a change of course, a way to tell his story and hopefully offer a lesson to young people caught in similar circumstances.
🗓Growing up in Brixton in the 1980s Leroy was dealt a seriously tough hand as a toddler.
"My mum was murdered when I was two [and] growing up in South London with my nan I was always going to turn to crime, what else are you going to do?"
"My mum was murdered when I was two [and] growing up in South London with my nan I was always going to turn to crime, what else are you going to do?"
👮♂️When James spotted Leroy and his accomplice in 1993 it was at the Atlantic in Brixton.
"I had a young family at the time and I liked to do a bit of overtime," James said.
"I had a young family at the time and I liked to do a bit of overtime," James said.
📚James kept tabs on Leroy in the years after the shooting through a victim’s support officer and found out about his book.
"I can see why young kids get involved in crime and I understood that with Leroy."
After reading it James decided to take the next step and meet him.
"I can see why young kids get involved in crime and I understood that with Leroy."
After reading it James decided to take the next step and meet him.
✍Leroy apologised to James face-to-face and from that point on their relationship has just got stronger.
The pair have produced an updated version of Leroy’s book 'Out Of The Box' together and take their story of redemption to at-risk kids.
The pair have produced an updated version of Leroy’s book 'Out Of The Box' together and take their story of redemption to at-risk kids.
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