Georgia – Prominent civil rights lawyers Ben Crump and Henry Daniels declared on Tuesday their intention to lodge a $16 million lawsuit against the Camden County Sheriff’s Office, as well as the deputy who shot dead a 53-year-old man during an October traffic stop.
The deceased individual, Leonard Cure, was fatally wounded by Staff Sgt. Buck Aldridge of Camden County after being pulled over for speeding. Prior to this incident, Cure had served more than 16 years in Florida prison before his exoneration from charges related to a robbery that took place in 2003.
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Cure’s family members were present at the press conference held outside of the courthouse in Camden County, expressing profound grief over not only losing him once but twice now.
His brother Michael stated, “It was just great to have him home. And to lose them again. For the second time permanently. There are no words in the English vernacular to express how heartbreaking it is. It is it’s just so sad. And again, November 23, is his birthday. So it was a bittersweet Thanksgiving for us all.”
Presently, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) has undertaken a probe into the circumstances leading up to the fatal shooting. Reports suggest there ensued an intense altercation between both individuals, after which officer Aldrige resorted using a taser following a sudden lunge made in the direction of the latter, resulting in a physical scuffle that tragically ended in a bullet wound inflicted upon the victim.
The Camden Country District Attorney Office is meanwhile awaiting submission findings from GBI prior to deciding its final stance regarding the usage force case concerned here.
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Leonard’s mother, Mary, said,” I am now a part of a group of women whose sons had been killed for literally nothing. But just being Black. How about that? How would you feel on his 53rd birthday, we were going to celebrate. Thanksgiving came and my son was not there.”
According to personnel records pertaining to Deputy Aldrige, he faced termination and received warnings while serving law enforcement duties, notably those involving handling traffic stop situations. Before being dismissed in 2017, Aldridge worked for the Kingsland Police Department for five years and got fired for forcefully throwing a woman to the ground and handcuffing her following a traffic stop, which was deemed a violation of the agency’s force usage policy.
He later joined the Camden County Sheriff Office in May 2018.
Post release Three years ago, Mr.Cure found employment within the security sector and harbored plans to continue his education at the college level. He frequently visited various educational institutions, sharing personal experiences of wrongful convictions he had faced in the past.
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Legal representatives The Cure family confirmed sending advance notice regarding the impending lawsuit addressed to the sheriff’s office on Monday, whereas the spokesperson for the same department responded, stating they were unable to comment on the matter as they hadn’t received the notification yet. Moreover, Deputy Aldrige is currently on paid leave while GBI continues its investigation into the shooting incident.