H. Leslie Quigg

Howard Leslie Quigg (1887 – 26 September 1980) was an American policeman who was twice the chief of police in Miami, Florida, in the periods 1921-1928 and 1937–1944.[1]

Quigg was a member of the Ku Klux Klan.[2]

In 1928, he and some of his officers were accused of the murder of a Black man in their custody.[3] Quigg was indicted in 1928 after three Miami police officers beat Harry Kier, a Black bellboy, to death for allegedly insulting a white woman at the hotel where he worked.[4][5] Although he was taken into custody in late March,[6] the criminal charges were dismissed by May because the witness did not testify.[7]

He was succeeded as police chief by Guy C. Reeve in 1928, and by Charles O. Nelson in 1944.[1]

Quigg died of a stroke in 1980, at the age of 92.[8]

References

1. Torres, Christian De La Rosa, Andrea (2020-09-17). "Mayor says next chief will have 'big shoes to fill'". WPLG. Retrieved 2021-04-23.
2. Connolly, N. D. B. (2016-03-25). A World More Concrete: Real Estate and the Remaking of Jim Crow South Florida. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-37842-8.
3. "SAY MIAMI POLICE SHOT MAN TO DEATH; Witnesses Accuse Chief and His Officers of Murder of a Negro Prisoner. TELL OF ORDERS TO WHIP Chief Reported to Have Suggested Removal of Body of False Tale of Explanation". The New York Times. 1928-03-27. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-04-23.
4. "Miami Chief Accused in a Police Lynching; Detectives Testify He Ordered Body Hidden When Negro Was Shot Down by Another". The New York Times. March 3, 1928. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
5. Smith, Fred (August 16, 2019). "The 1980 Miami Riots were the Blueprint for LA's in '92". A Crack in the Room Tone. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
6. "Miami Police Chief With Six of His Subordinates Land in County Jail on Charges of Wholesale Murder". Santa Cruz News. AP. March 24, 1928. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
7. "Charges Dismissed". San Bernardino Sun. May 18, 1928. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
8. "H. Leslie Quigg services tomorrow". The Miami News. 1980-09-29. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-04-23.