Leonard Cure places his hands on the back of his truck as Sgt. Buck Aldridge prepares to fire his Taser during a traffic stop Oct. 16, 2023, in Camden County, Georgia. | Camden County Sheriff's Office
Published on February 25, 2025 at 4:50 pm
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No charges will be filed against a Camden County sheriff’s sergeant who fatally shot a man during a traffic stop.
Brunswick District Attorney Keith Higgins announced the decision Tuesday, saying Sgt. Buck Aldridge’s use of force was “objectively reasonable” in the death of Leonard Cure on Oct. 16, 2023.
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Cure was stopped after speeding and driving recklessly and then fought with Aldridge, police video showed.
Attorney Ben Crump has sued the sergeant and Camden County sheriff in connection with the shooting. He called the prosecutor’s decision a failure of justice that suggests law enforcement can take a life without consequence.
“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,” Crump said in a statement. “We will not let this grave injustice be forgotten. We will continue to demand accountability for the flaws in policing in this country.”
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Police car video and bodycam footage showed the encounter just north of Exit 7 on Interstate 95 in Kingsland. The videos show Cure speeding by Aldridge at more than 100 mph and driving recklessly. The sergeant’s police car video then shows him following the Ram pickup as it moves back and forth between lanes, then pulls over after a short pursuit.
The sergeant is heard yelling “Get out, get out!” to the pickup driver. When told to put his hands on the truck, the driver says he will not. Cure then pulls away when Aldridge reaches for his right arm, police video shows.
The sergeant tells Cure to go to the back of his truck, then pulls out his Taser as he issues a warning. When Cure asks why he is getting tased, Aldridge says it is because he is under arrest for speeding and reckless driving, the videos show.
Aldridge shoots Cure several times with the Taser, and the two wind up fighting. Cure grabs Aldridge’s neck, but the sergeant hits him with a baton and then fires his gun. Cure falls, with the sergeant on top of him, then standing.
Cure had been released from a Florida prison in 2020 after being wrongfully convicted after The Innocence Project of Florida helped exonerate him. In his statement Tuesday, Crump said Cure fought so hard to reclaim his life after the wrongful conviction, then had it stolen from him again.
