Family of exonerated man killed during traffic stop plans to sue Georgia deputy
Deputy shoots exonerated man after 16 years in prison
A traffic stop in southeastern Georgia turned deadly, claiming the life of a man who had been wrongfully convicted of robbery and spent 16 years in prison. Leonard Cure was pulled over by a Camden County deputy for speeding. He complied at first, but things quickly turned ugly.
CAMDEN COUNTY, Ga. - Attorneys for the family of an exonerated Black man killed near the Georgia-Florida border say they plan to sue the deputy who fatally shot him during a roadside struggle.
Civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and Harry Daniels say they will hold a press conference on Tuesday afternoon in front of the Camden County Courthouse to announce the lawsuit against Camden County Deputy Buck Aldridge.
On Oct. 16, Leonard Cure was pulled over by Buck Aldridge as he drove along Interstate 95 near the Georgia-Florida line.
Aldridge ended up shocking the 53-year-old man with a Taser after he refused to put his hands behind him to be cuffed. Body and dash camera videos show Cure fought back and had a hand at the deputy’s throat when Aldridge shot him point-blank.
"Put your hands behind your back, or you are getting tased," Aldridge can be heard yelling on dash cam footage released by the Camden County Sheriff's Office.
"Why am I getting tased?" Cure could be heard asking.
The deputy told him he was under arrest for speeding and reckless driving at 100 mph. The video appears to show Cure freeze before turning around and wrestling with the deputy. The official used a stun gun and baton before ultimately shooting Cure.
Sheriff Jim Proctor and District Attorney Keith Higgins of the Brunswick Judicial Circuit made the decision along with the GBI to release the video to show how the "incident escalated to the point of extreme Use of Force."
Relatives have said Cure likely resisted because of psychological trauma from spending 16 years imprisoned in Florida for an armed robbery he didn’t commit. Officials exonerated and freed him in 2020.
Attorneys say Aldridge had a history of using aggressive force while on duty. Personnel records show Aldridge was fired in August 2017 by a police department in the same Georgia county after he threw a woman to the ground and handcuffed her during a traffic stop. The Camden County Sheriff’s Office hired him nine months later.
Last year, Aldridge dragged a driver from a car that crashed after fleeing the deputy on Interstate 95. Body and dash camera video obtained by The Associated Press show the driver on his back as Aldridge punches him. Records indicate the deputy faced no disciplinary action.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is investigating Cure’s death and will submit its findings to prosecutors. Aldridge’s attorney said the video shows he fired in self-defense.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.