SAVANNAH, GA — A white deputy won’t face criminal charges after he fatally shot a Black man following a physical altercation during a traffic stop in Georgia, prosecutors say.
Leonard Cure, 53, was fatally shot after he got into a physical altercation with Staff Sgt. Buck Aldridge of Camden County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) when he was pulled over on Interstate 95 near the Florida state line for speeding on Oct. 16, 2023. Cure had been free from a Florida prison for three years after being wrongfully convicted of robbing a drug store in 2003.
The altercation, which was captured on dashcam video, began after Cure refused to follow the deputy’s orders after he get out of his pickup truck. The deputy ordered Cure to put his hands behind his back, but Cure didn’t. The deputy then used a stun gun on Cure who then appeared to be fighting the deputy. During a struggle, Cure had his hands on the deputy’s throat. The deputy then fired his weapon at Cure.
The district attorney announced on Tuesday he would not pursue charges after reviewing body-camera video and evidence.
“Use of deadly force at that point was objectively reasonable given that he was being overpowered at that time,” District Attorney Keith Higgins told The Associated Press.
Aldridge was placed on administrative leave after the shooting during an investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI). Per the Associated Press, Aldridge was assigned to CCSO’s administrative division
Cure’s family is being represented by Ben Crump and Harry Daniels. The family’s attorney’s have alleged excessive force was used.
They also said the deputy who shot Cure should never have never been hired by the sheriff’s department; he was hired less than a year after he was terminated by the Kingsland Police Department in 2017 where reportedly he had been disciplined three times for using excessive force.
A federal lawsuit was filed against the deputy and former sheriff seeking $16 million is currently pending in U.S. District Court.
More on the deputy-involved shooting and pending lawsuit.
