Leonard Cure, an exonerated man, was shot in killed after being pulled over for a traffic violation along Interstate 95 in Camden County.
CAMDEN COUNTY, Ga. — Civil rights attorneys representing the family of Leonard Cure, an exonerated man who was fatally shot by a Camden County deputy along I-95 in October, are announcing the filing of an intent to sue the deputy involved.
Cure’s family will be joined alongside attorneys Ben Crump, Harry Daniels, and Seth Miller on Tuesday afternoon at the Camden County Courthouse to address the filing.
Cure, who spent 16 years wrongfully imprisoned in Florida for a 2003 robbery, was pulled over by Camden County Staff Sgt. Buck Aldridge for speeding and reckless driving on Oct. 15.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said Cure complied with Aldridge until he was told he was under arrest.
The GBI said Cure resisted arrest and assaulted Aldridge as he was trying to take Cure into custody. Aldridge shot Cure following a struggle along the side of the highway. Cure died at the scene.
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The GBI continues to investigate the shooting, which is the state’s 80th officer-involved shooting investigation this year.
In April 2017, Aldridge was placed on administrative leave for “alleged misconduct.” In a press release, Crump said Aldridge was fired after throwing a woman on the ground during a traffic stop.
After an internal investigation, the city manager suspended him without pay for three days and recommended a 12-month probationary period.
Four months later, Aldridge was fired for violating two agency policies: Use of Necessary and Appropriate Force and On/Off Duty Conduct policies, employee records stated.
Cure had been out of prison for less than three years at the time of his death.
The Innocence Project of Florida, a nonprofit organization committed to helping innocent prisoners regain their freedom, represented Cure when he was being exonerated from a wrongful armed robbery conviction.
Cure was exonerated in December 2020 based on findings of “actual innocence” after he was wrongfully convicted in 2003 for an armed robbery at a Walgreens in Broward County, Innocence Project said.
Before his death, Cure spoke at colleges about his experience of being wrongfully convicted, and had just received compensation from the state of Florida for the time he lost while incarcerated.
