Out of the Box - The Story of Leroy Smith

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I was on the run for like a year, I was arrested in America by the FBI Swat Team,” Mr Smith explained. I feel like I have put closure on the whole incident and it makes me feel proud that me and Leroy have helped people to stay on the straightened narrow and have second thoughts about getting involved in crime,” he added. Retired from policing

She said ‘if I bring you somewhere? What are you going to say when people ask you what you do?’” Leroy continued. “And it's true. When you go somewhere, [it’s] the first thing people ask.One of Leroy's three shots hit Met Police officer James Seymour (Image: Facundo Arrizabalaga/MyLondon) Things took a more serious turn after he started carrying a gun. “One one occasion I pulled it on somebody as a joke and I was totally surprised at the fear in the person and the power that I felt. This was a turning point in my mindset.” A former Metropolitan Police officer has teamed up with the man who shot him in 1993 to help youngsters avoid a life of crime. He did keep tabs on Leroy over the years through a victim’s support officer and this was how James found out about his book. That, he said, was outweighed by the positive responses he also gets from colleagues and the public.

They enjoyed a Number One hit with Sad Sweet Dreamer in 1974, and Top Twenty hit Purely By Coincidence a few months later. I often tell kids who are struggling, 'Get respect the right way, make something of yourself. Then you'll be someone.'" Leroy chose a train station for him and James to meet, as he feared the whole thing might be a ruse to get revenge. You start smoking weed when you’re like 13 and crime is everywhere. You start supporting [that habit] and everyday living with petty crime and that escalates.” When he encountered the policemen in 1993 he was on the run from jail having escaped while being transferred from Leicester to Brixton Prison under arrest for gun charges.I had blood pouring out my sides and I stuffed three fingers in the exit wound to control the bleeding,” he added. He retired from policing in 2014 after 30 year’s on service and returned to police driving school in 2016. Mr Seymour currently trains police officers to drive on blue lights, pursuits and surveillance techniques. I can stand in front of kids and tell them I learned the hard way. I have been through all these different situations, all these different scenarios, and it has taken its toll.

Leroy played keyboards in the Manchester soul band who had a number one hit with Sad Sweet Dreamer in 1974. Even if you go down the route of education you’re never going to make the same amount of money and will always be faced with harder circumstances than white people and that is a fact.” When you bust it, you feel that power. Only those who have fired a gun know what it feels like. It's cold." Eventually Smith made it to the big-time when he got hold of a gun. The weapon was his route to power because it made everyone scared of him. Don’t forget this was a time in London (the 1990s) when guns were not as common as they are today. Smith gives a fascinating account of his time in jail. Violence and drugs were part of everyday life inside and inmates played out petty and violent feuds among themselves and their guards. He says that prison eventually destroyed his ego.Every police officer has to watch video the story of restorative justice , with me and James because the probabilities are that he is going to become a victim in the line of duty and he has to know how to deal with it,” Mr Smith added. He added: “I just decided rather than have all the bitterness and anger against him, why not make something positive out of it. When I came out the second time, my ex-partner really got my mind opened and thinking, it’s because of her that I made it. She was challenging me about some things and making me look at [others] differently.” But after I had time to reflect, I realised my whole situation has gone times 10 up. Now you’ve got Interpol looking for you. And anyone who thinks they can do things and it’s done is tripping. Because after that long inside, the whole world’s left you behind.” James Seymour, left, and Leroy Smith

Through the Victim Support charity, James had been keeping tabs on Leroy's life and, out of natural curiosity, read his book that detailed a life growing up in 1980s Brixton after his mother had been murdered when he was just two years old. We have seven newsletters you can currently sign up for - including a different one for each part of London, as well as an EastEnders one for all the gossip from Albert Square, and a London Underground one to keep you up to date on the latest transport news. Unable to see the scene, when he heard the final gunshot he thought his colleague had been murdered.

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Once in New York he became involved with Jamaican drug dealers and got embroiled in a conflict between rival suppliers.