Ex-Metropolitan police officer from Tonbridge, forgives man who shot him
16:59, 18 August 2020
updated: 18:27, 18 August 2020
An ex-police officer from Tonbridge has spoken of how he forgave the former drug dealer who shot him.
James Seymour, a father-of-two, and Leroy Smith, who spent 20 years in prison for the shooting, met again under very different circumstances after Mr Smith wrote a cautionary book about his life of crime.
Mr Seymour, 57, said: "I read the book and thought if he does want to go straight I will support him.
"When I met him it was one of the best things I have ever done in my life. I just felt so at peace and really proud I could forgive him."
In March 1994, Mr Smith, now 52, shot Mr Seymour in the back and another officer in the leg when they approached him in Brixton, after he visited a pub known to be frequented by drug dealers.
Mr Smith was already on the run after escaping custody while being transferred to another prison.
Mr Seymour, whose daughters were just two and four at the time, says he remembers the shooting "like it was yesterday".
"It was the case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or the way I see it, the right place at the right time, so another officer didn't get injured or it wasn't a member of the public," he said.
After six months off, he was back on the beat in Brixton.
Mr Smith was sentenced to 25 years for the shooting as well as other offences.
"When I got released I was nurtured by some really kind people and they showed me things in a really different light and from a different perspective. Life moves on and you don't want to go back and get stuck," he said.
Instead, Mr Smith, himself a father, decided he was going to help people by sharing his story and "redeem" himself in the process.
His novel, Out of the Box, was published in 2016 and two years later, he heard Mr Seymour wanted to get in touch.
"I couldn't believe it. I was scared but I definitely wanted to meet him. When we met I looked into his eyes and said sorry," Mr Smith said.
Reflecting on how he felt about the man who shot him, Mr Seymour said: "I never hated him, I had a bit of bitterness but after time passed I just thought 'What's the point having that bitterness?'"
The pair are now friends and recently returned to the scene of the shooting.
"We just talk about anything together, and sometimes we don't agree. We have been open and honest with each other and that's what our friendship is based on," Mr Seymour said.
Mr Smith now travels to schools speaking to students about his former life.
