CAMDEN COUNTY, Ga. — Bodycam and dashcam footage released by the Camden County Sheriff's Office Wednesday shows the moments leading up to the fatal shooting of Leonard Cure, a Georgia man who was exonerated after he was wrongfully incarcerated for 16 years.
Cure was released from prison in December 2020, after evidence showed he was not at the scene of the robbery he was imprisoned for in 2003. He did not leave to see his third year of freedom.
READ MORE: Mother of Leonard Cure speaks out
The footage shows the incident Monday, when the deputy who shot Cure, Sgt. Buck Aldridge, pulled him over for speeding on I-95. He pulled him over on the side of the highway.
He can be heard asking Cure to get out of his car once, then screaming at him to exit the car.
Aldridge immediately tells Cure to put his hands on the back of the truck. When Cure does not immediately do so, Aldridge grabs him by the arm and Cure pulls away.
Aldridge tells him again to "step to the rear" of the vehicle. Cure asks him, "Who are you?" Aldridge replies, "State Sergeant Aldridge with the Sheriff's Office." At this point, Aldridge pulls his stun gun out and points it at Cure.
Cure asks him, "In the name of who?" Aldridge replies: "In the name of the law of the State of Georgia." He again demands Cure go to the back of the truck, "or you're going to get tased."
When Cure goes to the back of the truck, Aldridge calls for backup on his radio, saying he is dealing with a "noncompliant" person.
Aldridge continues to order Cure to put his hands behind his back. He leaves his hands on the car, asking, "Do I have a warrant?" Aldridge replies, "You do now."
While Cure's hands are still on the car, Aldridge tells him, "Put your hands behind your back or you're getting tased, I'm telling you that right now."
"Why? Why am I getting tased?" Cure asks.
Aldridge answers: "Because you are under arrest for speeding and reckless driving."
"I'm not driving, nobody was hurt," Cure says. "How was I speeding?" Aldridge tells him that he passed him going 100 mph. Cure responds: "Okay, so that's a speeding ticket, right?"
Aldridge tells him that speeding tickets are a criminal offense in the state of Georgia. (It is true that highspeed driving and reckless driving are arrestable offenses in Georgia.)
"I don't have a ticket in Georgia," Cure says. Aldridge responds, "You do now!" He reiterates that Cure is accused of driving over 100 mph.
Cure, less than three years of out of prison, says: "I am not going to jail."
Aldridge orders him again to put his hand behind his back, shouting, "Yes, you are going to jail." Cure appears to point upwards, with one hand still on the truck. This is when Aldridge uses the stun gun on him.
While Cure is still experiencing tremors from the stun gun, Aldridge continues to order him to put his hands behind his back. With the wires from the stun guns seemingly still attached, Cure begins making swatting motions with his arms.
Aldridge grabs Cure and they begin to push against each other. Aldridge then pulls one of Cure's arms behind his back and grabs him in a headlock. Cure gets one of his arms around Aldridge's back and presses his open palm against Aldridge's face.
Cure gets out of the headlock and pushes Aldridge up against the car, appearing to press his hand against Cure's nose and mouth. Aldridge attempts to use his baton, which does not seem to work.
Cure suddenly falls to the ground. There is no gunshot heard in the video, but at this point, Aldridge retrieves his radio off of the ground and says, "Deputy shots fired, deputy shots fired Camden," into the speaker.
He continues to shout: "Stay down, stay down," while pointing his gun at Cure. At one point, Cure seems like he is starting to sit up, but after Aldridge shouts at him again, he goes down again. While Aldridge does have his gun pulled, there are no gunshots heard throughout the entire video.
While Cure is on the ground, a Brinks truck can be seen backing up towards the scene. About a minute later, a man in a blue shirt and shorts -- not in police uniform -- approaches the other side of Aldridge's car and also holds a gun on Cure.
When Aldridge goes to inspect Cure, the man in the blue shirt continues to hold a gun on him. He is not seen again after police officers arrive.
An additional police officers arrive and begin to administer aid to Cure. EMTs arrive on scene later in the video.
They administer CPR, eventually loading Cure into an ambulance. CCSO says Cure died of his wounds.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is handling the investigation into this case.
Aldridge is currently on administrative leave, which is standard protocol during investigations of use of force.