Georgia deputy who killed exonerated man faces unrelated civil rights charges

A Georgia sheriff’s deputy who fatally shot a man who had been exonerated and freed from prison has been indicted on unrelated civil rights charges, federal prosecutors said Thursday.

The civil rights counts against Buck Aldridge are not related to the fatal shooting of the exonerated man, Leonard Cure, who Aldridge killed during a struggle after a traffic stop in 2023. No criminal charges were filed in that case.

The federal indictment returned by a grand jury in Georgia announced Thursday charges Aldridge with 13 counts, including four counts of deprivation of rights under color of law.

He is accused of using excessive people arrested on four occasions, involving three victims. He is also accused of preparing “multiple” misleading reports to justify the use of force, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia said in a statement.

The indictment alleges that in 2021 used a taser on one person without justification and kicked that person; and that the same year he used a taser on someone who was already handcuffed.

Aldridge is also accused of punching a third victim in the face without legal justification in 2022, and of repeatedly using a taser on that same victim after he had stopped resisting arrest.

The Camden County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday that Aldridge has been relieved of his duties effective immediately.

“The Camden County Sheriff’s Office is committed to transparency and accountability at every level,” Sheriff Kevin Chaney said in a statement.

Aldridge was indicted on four counts of deprivation of rights under color of law and seven counts of falsification of records.

Federal court records did not show an attorney for Aldridge, and did not show any events or plea in the case announced Thursday.

Aldridge fatally shot Cure, 53, on Oct. 16, 2023, after Aldridge pulled over Cure’s pickup truck on Interstate 95 near the Georgia-Florida line for speeding and there was a struggle, officials have said and video showed.

District Attorney Keith Higgins, who reviewed body camera and other evidence, in February announced there would be no criminal charges in the case. He told The Associated Press that “use of deadly force at that point was objectively reasonable given that he was being overpowered at that time.”

Body camera video released in that case shows Aldridge threatening to use a taser against Cure during an argument, and Aldridge telling Cure that he is under arrest for speeding and reckless driving.

Dash cam video shows Cure in a physical struggle with Aldridge and Cure placing his hand on the officer’s face and pushing his head back before Aldridge shot him.

The shooting at the time was criticized by Cure’s family, who said the shooting was unnecessary. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said at the time that Cure initially complied until learning he would be placed under arrest.

Three years before he was fatally shot, Cure was released from a Florida prison after 16 years on an armed robbery conviction. He had been sentenced to life.

Cure was found to have been wrongfully convicted in 2020.

A review by authorities which had sought the Innocence Project of Florida found that through an ATM receipt and other evidence, Cure was miles away from the robbery. The Broward County prosecutor’s office concluded that Cure did not commit the crime.