Two months after the state of Florida formally apologized to Leonard Cure for the 16 years he lost following a wrongful conviction for armed robbery, authorities say he was fatally shot Monday by a sheriff’s deputy during a traffic stop just across the state line in Georgia.
“He and his family deserved better,” the Innocence Project of Florida said in a statement. “Lenny’s life mattered.”
Cure’s quest to rebuild his life after being wrongfully convicted in 2003 ended tragically on the shoulder of Interstate 95 in South Georgia on Monday morning.
On Wednesday, the Camden County, Georgia, sheriff’s office released body-worn and dash camera videos of the moments leading up to the shooting.
In the dash cam video, the deputy begins pursuing Cure with his sirens on after Cure’s vehicle passes his. The pursuit lasts about one minute and 20 seconds.
This guy had a long history of violence before the crime for which he was eventually exonerated. He should have known better than the get violent with the police by this point. Yeah it's very unfortunate that it led to this but he probably was far from an innocent. Sometimes the bleeding heart types around here remind me of the lady who decided it was her moral obligation to befriend her mother's killer, only to eventually be killed by her mother's killer.
Watch the video before making an imbecilic response.
After having his entire life destroyed by police and the prison system, I don't blame him for being terrified. Not to mention how mentally broken he must have been at that point from being in a cage for a crime he didn't commit. Perhaps you're not aware of how fucked up a person can become after something like that.
This man needed years of therapy. What he got instead were bullets.
Talk about a small minded thought, holy shit... How about you go and wrongfully spend 16 years in prison. You can't draw similarities between another entirely different situation, they are not even closely the same. You're being a big idiot with this "hot take"...
Even a short stint in prison is a traumatic experience and this guy served 16 years of a life sentence when he was innocent. It broke him and no amount of money could bring him back. This cop is not to blame for his death but the entire justice system and the part of society that didn't want him back regardless.
It's that he didn't pull over instantly. Cops are taught resistance or even slowness to comply is a threat to their authority and merits escalation. If the cop is not completely in control of the situation (or if they feel they aren't), they're taught to take control of it aggressively, regardless of the context of the situation. Resistance is a potential threat to be extinguished quickly, ask questions later.
Honestly, I understand why he shot. The cop came in a bit hot at first but he didn't immediately use a gun. It only came to that after Lenny started winning the brawl and after attempting to use a Taser instead.
He even started to apply first aid afterwards. So I think the cop did okay here.
Nah fuck that. It was verbal until the cop tased him, then its not exactly shocking that it causes him to react. The cop was screaming the whole time, no de-escalation at all. Just get him to the side of the road, safe and talk while waiting for backup. It's just more evidence of undertrained US cops. There was no reason for this man to die.
Absolutely!! Backup took 4 minutes. Leonard just wanted to know why he was getting arrested instead of just getting a ticket. He obviously hated cops, but he was perfectly willing to talk before he was tazed.
The article says Cure was going at 100 MPH for 80 seconds after the officer put on his lights. Cure pulled over in the end, but that doesn't mean it's not a chase, which is why the cop ordered him out so quickly. 100 MPH is already more than just a speeding ticket, that's reckless endangerment. In general, 15 MPH above the speed limit is considered reckless. Add that to the chase, and that's why Cure was under arrest rather than just a ticket. I agree with you, the cop did nothing wrong here. He gave lawful orders, escalated force reasonably, attempted both his taser and his baton before firing as a last resort when he began to lose the fight and his own life became threatened, and administered first aid immediately.
Dude he was fighting the cop with his hands around the cop’s neck. The cop was doing 65+ when he passed. You can tell he was speeding. I get that going in for reckless driving may be traumatic for somebody with his history, but the cop doesn’t know that.
Someone of sound mind tries to be cooperative when pulled over. The guy was not that, and as all things happening in the heat of the moment, it quickly got out of control. How in the fuck was this a hit job?
Because he just got released from being wrongfully imprisoned, was driving while Black and was killed for it. Every cop in the nation knows who the hell he is. And racists and tyrants don't like those who escape their wicked claws.
Even under your interpretation of the situation, it's still wrong, as white people who do the same are rarely if ever killed for it while Black people are.