By John Hood
Being
a South Florida cop is no joke, never has been, and,
probably never will be either. Witness the recent
cold-blooded shootings of two of Broward's finest —
gunned down simply for doing their jobs.
Marshall Frank knows
this firsthand. In the ’60s he walked the wild side of
the boomtown and helped to keep a lid on the bang-bang;
through the ’70s he battled the cocaine cowboys, not to
mention the rag-tag gaggle of ne’er-do-wells fueled by
their product; and, at decade’s end, he investigated and
arrested the officers responsible for the death of
Arthur McDuffie, the case that brought about the
devastating riots of 1980. He’s been shot, he’s been
bloodied and he lived through it all, as patrolman,
detective and finally, captain at Metro-Dade.
SunPost
caught up with the gentleman during a Miami Beach Public
Library promo stop for his just-out From Violins to
Violence: Memoirs of a Virtuoso Homicide
Detective (Fortis, $24.95), a book as candid as a
gunshot. We heard music (Frank’s an accomplished
violinist), we heard stories (about his mobster
stepfather, pre-CSI forensics and the good life
in Melbourne, where he and his wife now live) and,
later, we even got the crime-torn veteran to answer a
few questions about the Miami he helped make safe for us
to swing in.
Who shot you in ’65?
An angry woman trying to prevent me and my partner from
arresting her boyfriend ... a fugitive from New York.
Used a rifle.
Have you ever had to
shoot someone in the line of duty?
No ... thank goodness.
What was one of the grisliest murder cases you had
to investigate?
The killing of G.W. Hall, whose body was hacked into
several pieces and strewn around the highway in North
Dade County. Or, the murder of Joseph J. Springer, who
was shot by a pistol, driven to the Everglades, shot
four more times with a shotgun, then dumped in a ditch
... found three days later in advanced decomposition.
Organized crime.
You arrested the five
cops involved in the McDuffie case — was there animosity
among others in the department?
Never experienced animosity. I believe the majority of
department officers knew these guys had made their own
beds.
Why do you think the
five were acquitted?
Three officers, who participated in the beating, were
given immunity to testify against the others by Janet
Reno. Two of these were as guilty as the ones charged. I
think that influenced the jury’s thinking. In this kind
of case, there was no other evidence to specifically
identify the main culprits without giving immunity to
some. It was a gamble — also, very difficult to convince
juries (back then) to imprison police officers who act
in the line of duty (ex. Rodney King).
Do you think Miami is
more dangerous now, or less?
It’s probably about the same. The most dangerous period
was the two years after the Mariel boatlift ... I don’t
think it’s ever been that dangerous again.
Why Melbourne?
Peace. Tranquility. Less density, less traffic, nice
people, low crime, lots of water, centrally located in
the state.
Bach or Beethoven?
Beethoven … the depth of his works overshadows Bach.
Mozart or Mahler?
Mozart. The most prolific, the most diverse, the
greatest musical genius of all time.
