Video Shows Fatal GA Police Shooting For Man Wrongfully Imprisoned

Editor's Note: This story contains links to the video footage released in the shooting death of a man. The footage is graphic in nature.

CAMDEN COUNTY, GA — Dash camera, body camera and other related video footage was released Wednesday in the fatal police shooting earlier this week of 53-year-old Leonard Cure, the Camden County Sheriff's Office said.

Cure, who was exonerated three years ago after wrongfully spending 16 years in a Florida prison, was shot and killed by an unidentified Camden County deputy around 7:30 a.m. Monday during a traffic stop on Interstate 95 north, south of mile marker 9, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said.

Authorities released the three-part footage shortly after 4 p.m. Wednesday on YouTube. Patch reviewed the footage.

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," the sheriff's office said.

"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 GBI said Monday that Cure complied with the deputy's commands until learning that he was being arrested.

RELATED: Exonerated Man Wrongfully Imprisoned For 16 Years Killed By GA Deputy

"After not complying with the deputy's requests, the deputy tased Cure. Cure assaulted the deputy. The deputy used the Taser for a second time and an ASP baton; however, Cure still did not comply," the GBI said in a news release.

The deputy pulled out a gun and shot Cure, the GBI said. Emergency medical technicians treated Cure, however, he later died, the GBI said. It is unknown if he died at the scene or a hospital.

The GBI said no deputies were injured in the shooting.

Cure was exonerated in December 2020 after being convicted of an armed robbery of a Broward County, Florida, store in 2003. After being released from prison, Cure relocated to Georgia, where he reconnected with his family.

“My heart is disconnected and my soul aches,” Cure's mother, Mary, said at a Wednesday afternoon press conference at the Camden County Courthouse, according to the Innocence Project of Florida, an organization that helped Cure get exonerated.

'Now, You're Getting Tased': Dashcam Footage Shows Encounter

In the first of a three-part series of videos, a 12 minute and 15 second-long clip shows the deputy's initial encounter with Cure and the fatal shooting that followed.

Once Cure is seen pulling over to the side of the interstate, the deputy is immediately heard yelling for Cure to exit a pickup truck.

The deputy then orders Cure to put his hands behind the truck, to which Cure is seen exiting the truck and is heard saying, "I ain't doing ----."

The deputy then reaches for Cure's arm, and Cure pulls it away from him. Cure then asks for the deputy's identification, to which he obliges by saying he is a staff sergeant.

Cure then identifies himself, though the name is unclear. The deputy commands Cure to walk behind the truck and tells him, "Now, you're getting tased."

Cure is then seen complying with commands, standing to the side of the truck's rear and putting both of his hands on the back of the truck. He then turns his head as instructed by the deputy.

For a second time, Cure is heard asking the deputy to identify himself, to which the deputy does and states he is with the Camden County Sheriff's Office. Cure is heard asking the deputy if he has a warrant.

The deputy is heard telling Cure to "put (his) hands behind his back or he is getting tased." Cure then questions why would the deputy tase him. The deputy then tells Cure he is being arrested for speeding and reckless driving.

Cure is heard questioning the deputy, asking "How was I speeding?"

The deputy is heard telling Cure that he drove past the deputy driving at 100 mph. In a subsequent exchange of words, the deputy is heard telling Cure that he is going to jail.

Keeping his right hand on the truck's rear, Cure is seen raising his left arm upwards toward the sky, before the deputy is then seen tasing Cure.

Cure is then seen turning around, seemingly swatting to disrupt the tasing, before he is seen engaging in a fight with the deputy that lasts for about 21 seconds.

A popping sound is then heard before Cure is seen dropping to the ground between the patrol vehicle and the pickup truck. The deputy is then seen with a gun in his right hand and a baton in his left hand.

"Stay down," the deputy is heard telling Cure. "Stay down."

Cure is heard, from the ground, telling the deputy, "Too late. Too late."

The deputy is then heard shouting on his radio, "Camden, shots fired. Shots fired, Camden." He is heard shouting on the radio, "Suspect down. Can you send me help?"

His gun remained aimed at Cure as an armed guard is seen approaching with his gun drawn, as well.

Seconds pass before the second officer covers the deputy as he handcuffs Cure. Shortly after, sirens blare, and the deputy requests first aid.

The deputy kneels down next to Cure and says, "Hey, look at me. You ain't going no ---- where."

Additional deputies and officers are seen approaching the scene, offering assistance to both Cure and the deputy. As law enforcement officers tend to Cure, someone asks the deputy, "Did he have a gun or was he fighting you?"

The deputy is heard responding that Cure did not have a gun, but he was fighting him.

Law-enforcement officers give Cure CPR for over four minutes, and the deputy is seemingly heard crying out of view of the dashcam video.

The second video clip authorities released Wednesday is an immediate continuation of the dashcam footage. The 9-minute footage opens with law enforcement still rendering aid on Cure while officers ensure the deputy was not injured.

Nearly three minutes into the second clip, an ambulance is seen arriving. About two minutes later, Cure is seen being put into the ambulance. The video concludes shortly after as officers and the ambulance remained at the scene.

Bodycam Footage Shows Deputy's Perspective

The final clip is a 12-minute and 8-second video that mimicked the events of the dashcam footage.

After Cure puts his hands on the truck's rear, the deputy is heard requesting backup on his radio. Once the fight begins between the two of them, the deputy is seen hitting Cure with what appears to be a baton.

A subtle pop is heard, with what seems to be a shell casing flying in the air, before Cure is seen falling to the ground. Cure is seen moving, seemingly trying to sit up; however, the deputy orders him to remain on the ground with his gun drawn.

As backup is seen approaching, the deputy retrieves a first aid kit from the trunk of his patrol vehicle and immediately tries to render aid before other officers join in and remove the deputy from Cure.

Officers tell the deputy to relax, who is out of breath and is heard complaining that his face hurts. Once the deputy is heard crying, others try to calm him.

The footage ends with officers telling the deputy he will be transported to be checked for injuries.