KINGSLAND, Ga. – A sergeant with the Camden County Sheriff’s Office was involved in the fatal shooting Monday of a non-compliant motorist. The case is under investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
The deceased driver was identified as 53-year-old Leonard Allen Cure. He spent more than 16 years in a Florida prison for a wrongful conviction, News4Jax reported.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Camden County Sheriff’s Office released videos of the fatal encounter on its YouTube page.
“The video will show the traffic offenses of speeding over 100 mph and Reckless Driving which occurred prior to the body camera video of the Deputy’s encounter with Leonard Cure. Camden County Sheriff Jim Proctor, along with District Attorney Keith Higgins of the Brunswick Judicial Circuit, and GBI Agents investigating the case decided this morning to make the videos available for public review in an effort to be completely transparent as to what happened, and how the incident escalated to the point of extreme Use of Force,” the Sheriff’s Office wrote on Facebook.
WATCH VIDEOS BELOW … VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Note: The sound of the gunshot appears to be muted from both the dash camera and body camera videos released by the Sheriff’s Office.
Part 1 of 2 – Car Cam Footage
Part 2 of 2 – Car Cam Footage
Body Cam Footage
It is common practice for Georgia law enforcement agencies to ask the GBI to investigate shootings involving officers and deputies. The agency said it will submit its findings to the district attorney for the coastal Brunswick Judicial Circuit, which includes Camden County.
The case has heightened attention since Cure was convicted of armed robbery of a drug store in 2003 in Florida’s Dania Beach. His first trial ended with a deadlocked jury. His conviction came from a second trial.
Following the conviction, Cure was sentenced to life in prison since he had previous convictions for robbery and other crimes, News4Jax reported.
However, in 2020, the Broward State Attorney’s Office new Conviction Review Unit asked a judge to release Cure from prison. Broward’s conviction review team said it found “troubling” revelations that Cure had solid alibis that were previously disregarded and no physical evidence or solid witnesses to place him at the scene of the crime.
Moreover, an independent review panel of five local attorneys concurred with the findings.
As a result, Cure was released in April 2020 after his sentence was modified. In December 2020, a judge vacated his conviction and sentence.
In June 2023, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a claims bill granting Cure $817,000 in compensation for his conviction and imprisonment, along with educational benefits.
Attorney Benjamin Crump is representing the Cure family. During a Wednesday afternoon press conference he said, “We absolutely do not believe if he was a White citizen he would have been killed for a traffic stop.”
