CASE CLOSED
Miami’s Cold Case
Volunteers Have Investigated the Death of former Sheriff T.A. Buchanan:
The Facts Are Far Different From the Official Conclusions
On November 26, 1976 former Dade County Sheriff T.A. Buchanan was struck by a car and killed.
The driver, a young man who was employed as a bank guard, with both
prior military service in Homestead and an arrest record in Dade County,
stopped at the scene and cooperated with the investigation. Official
police reports, talk in the community, and media coverage concluded that
Buchanan was the victim of his own negligence – that he was
intoxicated, coming out of a bar/liquor store, wearing dark clothing on a
dark night, stepping in the way of an oncoming vehicle, with empty
liquor bottles found at his home.
However, with the benefit of recent interviews, official records,
family papers, newly discovered documents, and reviews of physical
evidence, the ‘posse’ has found indications that the commonly accepted
story may be inaccurate.
Buchanan was the County’s last elected Sheriff. He had overcome
indictments and scandals until a 1966 referendum passed, changing the
system from an elected Sheriff to one appointed by the County Manager.
The Sheriff’s Office was largely run by Chief of Detectives Manson Hill
until his own indictment. Buchanan and Hill left the Sheriff’s Office in
1966 and neither were ever convicted.
In 1976 Buchanan re-entered the public arena and unsuccessfully ran
for Judge. According to Buchanan’s kids, Manson Hill was seeing
Buchanan’s ex-wife at the time. On Thanksgiving, Buchanan enjoyed a big
dinner with his family. The next day, he received a call, warning him
that his life was in danger. He gave his kids money and sent them out of
the house, fearing that he would be murdered and his kids would be
kidnapped. That evening, he died.
Was it an accident? His family never believed that it was. Now,
evidence has been discovered that may justify their concerns. Was there a
predetermined outcome to the investigation?
The fact is that when he was struck by the car he was wearing
a brightly colored shirt, that there were lights from the adjacent
liquor store shining into the street, that he was walking towards – not
away from the store, and that he was not intoxicated at all – virtually
no alcohol in his blood. Proof of each of these facts has been obtained.
This is a photo of the actual “dark clothing” described in official police reports as being one of the causes of the death:
Below is the last page of the official Public Safety Department Traffic
Investigation Report concluding that factors involved in causing the
fatality were that “the pedestrian was attempting to cross Old Dixie
Highway from west to east … that the pedestrian was wearing dark
clothing and rolled out were the rumors about Buchanan being drunk and
staggering across the street, walking into the path of a car (he had
been known to drink heavily while Sheriff and the rumors were readily
accepted). However, Medical Examiner Joe Davis wrote to Buchanan’s
mother to confirm that her son was definitely not intoxicated or
suffering from any form of disease that would explain a person walking
into traffic.
The driver of the car is alive, as are
others who may have additional information. In this 2013 video interview
of Vivian Macleod, T.A. Buchanan’s niece, additional information is
publicly revealed for the first time.
All the more reason why Danny Goldman’s case never had much of chance of being solved at that time. The Sheriff’s Department was far more likely to have been actually involved in the crime and its cover up than it was in its solution or closure.