CAMDEN COUNTY, Ga. – The family of a 53-year-old man who was fatally shot during a traffic stop in October filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against the Georgia deputy who pulled the trigger. The lawsuit is seeking monetary damages in excess of $16 million.
Camden County Staff Sgt. Buck Aldridge fatally shot Leonard Cure, who had spent more than 16 years in prison in Florida before being exonerated in a 2003 robbery.
Cure’s death sparked national outrage last year following the release of dash camera video showing the incident as well as revelations that Aldridge was fired from a different Georgia police department in 2017 after throwing a woman to the ground during a traffic stop and handcuffing her.
Cure’s mother is angry and seeking justice.
“When they killed my child, I died with him,” said Cure’s mother Mary Cure on Tuesday.
She said she buried her son with the money the state gave for his wrongful conviction.
“You know how painful that is? He never got to spend anything. He bought a house, was never able to live in it,” she said.
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Cure’s family is represented by well-known civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and Henry Daniels.
Daniels said Tuesday the incident with Cure should’ve never happened.
The attorneys said Deputy Aldridge unjustifiably used his Taser against Cure, used more force than necessary and that he acted with malicious intent to harm Cure. They also said Camden County Sheriff Jim Proctor knowingly refused to terminate employees who violated people’s constitutional rights, and they said he knew of Deputy Aldridge’s previous violations and didn’t try to prevent them. They also listed several other incidents where they said the sheriff knew or should’ve known his deputies showed a history of violence and unlawful use of force but didn’t fire or discipline them.
“What that shows is a culture. An environment where it is allowed. An environment where Buck Aldridge can stop a person on a simple citation and demand them and Tase them and ultimately shooting and killing them. This case is directly against Jim Proctor. I told y’all before this is not just a bad apple it’s a bad orchard. It’s a bad orchard. And today we are bringing accountability to the apple and the orchard,” Daniels said.
News4JAX reported when a video released in 2022 showed Camden County detention center deputies beating up an inmate and three of those deputies were arrested.
In 2023, Deputy Christi Newman was indicted on charges in a traffic stop after she was seen punching a woman in the face, throwing her to the ground, then shoving her into the front of a patrol car all while handcuffed.
“You cannot change what you tolerate. This is outrageous and I believe I can speak, speak for my family, when we say that we are overwhelmed and we are outraged. This should not be,” Michael Cure, Leonard’s brother, said.
MORE: NAACP calls for firing of Camden County deputy after video of controversial traffic stop released
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation investigated Cure’s shooting and turned it over to the district attorney.
A spokesperson with the sheriff’s office said Aldrige is still employed but is now assigned to administrative duties with the fleet management office.
The family said they feel like he should never be able to work in law enforcement again.
“He should be incarcerated. That’s where he belongs because he is the criminal, not my brother,” Michael Cure said.
The NAACP in Camden County played a big role in forming the lawsuit and keeping track of previous cases.
The NAACP and local pastors said they sat down with the sheriff in November and asked him to fire Deputy Aldridge and the sheriff told them he would think about it.
According to investigators, Cure was pulled over for speeding, and video from the Oct. 16 encounter shows an intense interaction between the two men before Aldridge fired a Taser and Cure lunged at Aldridge.
WATCH: Video of violent Camden County traffic stop (Viewer discretion is strongly advised)
The two men wrestled and Cure grabbed Aldridge’s neck before Aldridge pulled out his gun and fatally shot Cure.
Since being freed three years ago, Cure worked a security job, planned on pursuing a college degree and frequently spoke at colleges about his experience of being wrongfully convicted.
Cure’s family said in December that they’re devastated at losing their loved one not once, but twice.
“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,” Michael Cure said.
Cure’s mother said there is no peace for her family. They want justice for Cure and justice for them is both Aldridge and Sheriff Proctor being held accountable.
“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,” Mary Cure said.
News4JAX obtained Aldridge’s personnel files, which showed Aldridge was fired and given warnings in previous years working for law enforcement. Both involved traffic stops.
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The 41-year-old deputy worked for the Kingsland Police Department for five years before he was fired in 2017 after he threw a woman to the ground during a traffic stop and handcuffed her. The agency said the encounter violated its use of force policy.
Aldridge was hired by the Camden County Sheriff’s Office in May 2018.