4 - PL US! - Saturday. January 19, 1991
 Officer John Milledge was justifiably proud. After completing a secret six-week training program on Sept. 1, 1944, the 48-year-old Milledge became one of the first five black officers to be accepted in the Miami Police Department.
   In those days, racist policies were still ingrained in most public institutions. Black officers rode bicycles and waited a beat. Their white colleagues drove squad cars.
   In the years which followed, Officer Milledge gained a reputation as a fair, but strict, police officer.
   On Nov. 1, 1946, Milledge was on foot, patrolling in area outside Dorsey Park, where a high school football game was in progress. The policeman spotted several teenagers attempting to sneak into the game. He ran after the group of young people, freely using his night stick. Sgt. David Rivero, a spokesman for the Miami police, tells me that in those days police used their night sticks far more often than they do today.
   One of the teenagers chased away by Milledge, 17-year-old Leroy Strachan, allegedly went to a house across the street, where he knew there was a 22 calibre rifle. He had borrowed the rifle the day before and had practised shooting at bottles and tin cans.
   Supposedly Leroy returned to an alley beside the park, spotted Officer Milledge, aimed the rifle and fired one shot. The bullet struck the policeman in the upper chest. Officer Milledge fell to the ground, dead. Leroy Strachan faded into the rough, tough neighborhood around the park.
   Because Leroy was black, the killing brought no outcries of racism from the public. Next day, Leroy left Miami, never to return. Neighbors, relatives and young people were questioned but, from all reports, no one had witnessed the crime. A $500 reward was posted, but it was never claimed. Soon, other murder cases took precedence over the Milledge killing.
   Years passed. The old Milledge file grew dusty and yellow with age. And then a most unusual thing happened. In July, 1989, about 43 years after the murder had taken place, Miami police received a phone call. Mary White claimed that on the day of the murder, so many years before, she had seen a boy run away from the scene of the crime with a 22 calibre rifle. The woman remembered the boy well
   and was able to describe him in detail. His most outstanding feature was an ophthalmic defect commonly called a wandering eye. His name was Leroy Strachan.
   Why did Mary White wait 43 years to tell her story? She stated that her husband had been a friend of the suspect and had forbidden her to tell what she had seen. Her husband had died recently. Now, to relieve her conscience, she was telling all she knew.
   Some years ago, when the murder rate grew to uncontrollable proportions in Miami, detectives found that they could only investigate a murder for 72 hours. Then, of necessity, they had to move on to a current case. This gave rise to a disproportionate number of old unsolved cases. To remedy this situation, a team of detectives was formed to delve into older unsolved murders. Sgt. Rivero says, “I know we were the first in Florida to develop a cold case team. Possibly, we were the first in the United States. Now many high murder rate dties have them.”
   Mary White's story was passed along to Miami's three-man cold case team. The evidence collected 43 years earlier was located. Newspaper dippings were studied. Sure enough, a boy with a roving eye had been questioned on the day of the crime. His name was Leroy Strachan.
   Leroy was located in Harlem in New York City. On Jan. 24, 1990, Miami detectives George Bosworth and David Cadavid flew to New York.
   They found the 61-year-old Leroy working is an elevator operator, a job he had held for 21 years. He had no police record and had led an exemplary life since leaving Miami. Leroy was long married and the father of three adult children, one of whom works as a State Corrections guard. When approached by the Miami detectives, Leroy confessed to the shooting of Officer Milledge.
   Because they had no jurisdiction in New York State, it was necessary for the police officers to return to Miami to further develop evidence and have a Florida judge issue an arrest warrant. With all the details In place, the detectives returned to Harlem on Feb. 14. Leroy was on his lunch break. He had not been inactive since the officers’ last visit. He had $6,000 in cash in his porket when he returned from lunch and had already been advised of his rights by a Miami attorney. Police believe that had they been a few
   hours later, Leroy would have been long gone. After all, the last time he had walked away he had stayed at large for 43 years.
   Leroy was refused bail and incarcerated in a New York jail. Initially, he fought extradition to Florida, as that state has the death penalty, while New York does not. As time went on, Leroy had a change of heart and decided to face the music in Florida. Florida officials advise me that conviction on the charge of murdering a police officer in Florida carries only two possible sentences, life imprisonment and execution.
   Of course, Leroy Strachan could be acquitted. He has spent the last 43 years as an upright citizen. Acquaintances describe him as a nonchalant, pleasant man. At the Red Spot Cafe, where Leroy has had lunch for the past 21 years, the owner, Jay Sealine says, “He must have suffered for 43 years with this on his conscience. The man is a sweetheart.”..................