CAMDEN COUNTY, Ga. (WSAV) — The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) is investigating an officer-involved shooting in Camden County on Monday where a deputy fatally shot a man who had been exonerated after spending 16 years in prison for a wrongful conviction, Reuters says.
Cure was arrested on charges of armed robbery and assault at a Walgreens store in Dania Beach, Florida about 20 years prior, Reuters reports. The news agency also stated that he was sentenced to life in prison after he was found guilty a year after that arrest. However, in 2020 a judge vacated the convictions after a review panel exonerated him.
From preliminary information, at about 7:30 a.m., a Camden County deputy initiated a traffic stop on Interstate 95 Northbound, just south of Mile Marker 9.
The driver of the car, Leonard Allan Cure, 53, was on his way to visit his mother in Florida when he was pulled over by the deputy, according to Reuters.
A sheriff’s department spokesperson stated that Cure was stopped because he was driving at least 90 miles per hour in an area where the speed limit was 70, the New York Times reported.
Cure initially complied with the officer’s commands until he learned that he was under arrest.
According to GBI, after not complying with the deputy’s requests, the officer tased Cure.
Cure then assaulted the deputy, which led the deputy to use the taser for a second time and an ASP baton; However, Cure still did not comply.
The deputy pulled out his gun and shot Cure.
Emergency crews treated Cure, but he later succumbed to his injuries.
The GBI will conduct an independent investigation.
Once complete, the case file will be given to the Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for review.
This is the 80th officer-involved shooting the GBI has been requested to investigate in 2023.
