A Georgia prosecutor has announced that no criminal charges will be filed against Camden County Sheriff’s Staff Sgt. Buck Aldridge in the fatal shooting of Leonard Allen Cure, a previously exonerated man, during an October 2023 traffic stop.
The decision, made by Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Keith Higgins, has sparked criticism from civil rights attorneys representing Cure’s family.
Higgins stated that Aldridge’s use of deadly force was justified under Georgia law, citing that the officer was “being overpowered” during a physical struggle with Cure.
“Use of deadly force at that point was objectively reasonable,” Higgins told the Associated Press in a phone interview.
However, attorneys Ben Crump and Harry Daniels, who represent Cure’s family, condemned the decision as a “devastating failure of justice.”
In a statement to Law&Crime, they asserted:
“Leonard Cure was a man who had already fought so hard to reclaim his life after a wrongful conviction, only to have it stolen from him again. His family will not stop fighting for accountability, and neither will we.”
Incident Overview
The fatal encounter occurred on October 16, 2023, along I-95 in Camden County, Georgia. Body camera footage shows Aldridge ordering Cure out of his truck and instructing him to place his hands on the back of the vehicle.
When Cure refused to comply with orders to put his hands behind his back, Aldridge deployed a Taser. Cure then turned and engaged in a physical altercation with the deputy, at which point Aldridge discharged his firearm, fatally wounding Cure.
The footage, which has been publicly released, captures Cure shouting expletives during the struggle. Gunfire erupts between the 2:15 and 2:25 mark in the video.
Legal and Civil Rights Concerns
The decision not to prosecute Aldridge comes as Cure’s family pursues a federal civil lawsuit against Aldridge and Camden County Sheriff Jim Proctor.
The lawsuit alleges that Aldridge, who has a documented history of excessive force, unnecessarily escalated the traffic stop and used excessive force when he deployed the Taser.
According to the lawsuit, Aldridge was previously dismissed from the Kingsland Police Department in 2017 for throwing a woman to the ground during a traffic stop. The lawsuit contends that this prior misconduct was indicative of a pattern of excessive force that contributed to Cure’s death.
Cure’s Exoneration and Wrongful Conviction
Before his fatal encounter with law enforcement, Cure had spent 16 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted of a 2003 armed robbery in Florida.
He was sentenced to life in prison but was exonerated after prosecutors determined that he was miles away from the crime scene at the time of the offense.
Cure was released in 2020 and had since become an advocate for criminal justice reform.
Ongoing Fight for Accountability
In response to the district attorney’s decision, Crump and Daniels vowed to continue seeking justice through the civil courts.
“This fight is not just for Leonard’s family—it is for every family who has suffered due to unchecked police violence and a chronic lack of accountability,” they said in a joint statement. “We will not let this grave injustice be forgotten.”
As the federal lawsuit moves forward, the case continues to raise pressing legal and civil rights questions regarding law enforcement accountability and the treatment of previously exonerated individuals in the criminal justice system.
