Family of exonerated Georgia man files $16 million federal lawsuit against deputy who fatally shot him
The family of an exonerated Georgia man, who was fatally shot by a sheriff's deputy in October, filed a $16 million federal lawsuit on Tuesday and claimed excessive force was used during the encounter.
Leonard Allan Cure was fatally shot by Sheriff's Deputy Buck Aldridge during a traffic stop on Oct. 16, 2023. The 53-year-old was killed three years after he was exonerated in an armed robbery case.
Cure had spent 16 years in a Florida prison after being wrongfully convicted in 2003, according to the criminal justice organization The Innocence Project, and in 2020, he became the first person exonerated by Broward County's Conviction Review Unit.
An investigation is still ongoing by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Keith Higgins has not yet made a decision to file criminal charges against Aldridge. Aldridge was placed on administrative leave while the GBI investigates Cure's death, according to The Associated Press.
"My brother deserved better than what he received in Camden County," Cure's brother, Michael Cure, said during a press conference on Tuesday morning in Brunswick, Georgia, where the family gathered with their attorney, Harry Daniels, and local NAACP leaders to announce the lawsuit.
"I believe I can speak for my family when we say that we are overwhelmed and we are outraged," he added.
The lawsuit, which was filed in the Southern District of Georgia – Brunswick division, names Aldridge as well as Jim Proctor, Sheriff of Camden County, Georgia. The complaint, which was obtained by ABC News, claims that "Proctor failed to terminate, discipline or retain deputies/detention officers within his office and control, that he knew or reasonably should have known have a propensity of violence and unlawful use of force."
"This case is directly against Jim Proctor. And I told you all before – this is not just a bad apple," Daniels said, referring to Aldridge. "This is a bad orchard and today we are bringing accountability to the apple and orchard."
Capt. Larry Bruce, a spokesman for the Camden County Sheriff's Office, told the Associated Press in a statement on Tuesday that the sheriff’s office does not comment on pending litigation, adding that Proctor has not yet retained an attorney in the civil case. ABC News reached out to Bruce for further comment.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a statement on Oct. 16. 2023 that the Camden County Sheriff's Office requested that GBI conduct an independent investigation into the incident and once complete, the case file will be sent to the Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office for review.
Asked about the status of the probe on Tuesday, GBI told ABC News on Tuesday that the "investigation has been given to the District Attorney's office."
ABC News reached out to the DA's office, but requests for comment were not immediately returned.
Adrienne Browning, an attorney who represents Aldridge amid the GBI probe, declined to comment on the federal lawsuit, with her office telling ABC News that she does not represent Aldridge in the civil case. Efforts to reach Aldridge directly were unsuccessful and it is unclear if Aldridge has retained an attorney to represent him in the civil matter.
What the body camera footage shows
A Camden County sheriff's deputy initiated a traffic stop on Interstate 95 Northbound on Oct. 16 2023 at around 7:30 a.m. where the driver, later identified as Leonard Cure, got out of his car at the deputy's request, according to a GBI statement outlining preliminary information.
"Cure complied with the officer's commands until learning that he was under arrest. After not complying with the deputy's requests, the deputy tased Cure. Cure assaulted the deputy. The deputy used the Taser for a second time and an ASP baton; however, Cure still did not comply. The deputy pulled out his gun and shot Cure," the statement said.
Body camera footage of the incident released on Oct. 18, 2023, shows the back and forth between Cure and the sheriff's deputy and the altercation that followed.
Video shows Cure getting out of the car following the deputy's request and then the deputy, who was later identified as Buck Aldridge, can be heard asking him to put his hands on the back of the vehicle, to which Cure complies.
As Cure questions why he was stopped, Aldridge can be heard threatening to tase Cure if he doesn't put his hands behind his back.
"Why? Why am I getting tased?" Cure said.
"Because you are under arrest for speeding and reckless driving," Aldridge responded.
Cure denied speeding and the officer insisted Cure "was doing 100 miles an hour."
Cure's hands appear to still be placed on the back of the vehicle as he argues with the deputy.
Moments later during the argument, Cure said, "I'm not going to jail," and Aldridge responded, "Yes, you're going to jail."
It is then that Cure lifts an arm up from the vehicle and Aldridge then uses his Taser on Cure, the video shows.
The sheriff's deputy asks him to put his hands behind his back and Cure turns around and approaches Aldridge, where the video shows the two appearing to engage in a physical altercation during which Aldridge tries to use his baton and Cure appears to push back, holding down Aldridge's face and then Aldridge pulls out his gun and shoots Cure.
After Cure falls to the ground, Aldridge places handcuffs on him and blood can be seen on the floor. When his body is turned around, blood can be seen on the right side of his back. EMT's were called to the scene but Cure died of his injuries.
"When they want to use excessive force there – you have other parts of the body you can shoot. You don't have to always kill somebody," Mary Cure, Leonard Allan Cure's mother, said on Tuesday.
Ahead of the release of the body camera videos, the Camden County Sheriff's Office said in a statement on Oct. 18, 2023, Sheriff Proctor, GBI, and Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Keith Higgins decided "to make the videos available for public review in an effort to be completely transparent as to what happened, and how the incident escalated to the point of extreme Use of Force."
Following the release of the body camera video, Aldrige's attorney Browning told the Associated Press in a statement that her client is a "fine officer and the video speaks for itself. It's clear his life was in danger and he defended himself."
ABC News reached out to Browning for further comment.
ABC News' Kiara Alfonseca and Davi Merchan contributed to this report.
