Authorities have released body cam footage that shows the moment Leonard Cure got into a scuffle with a police officer during a traffic stop and then was fatally shot.
Cure, 53 was stopped by an officer on Monday while driving on interstate 95. According to NBC, Cure was pulled over because he was allegedly speeding over 90 miles per hour. Cure was released from a Florida prison three years ago after being wrongly incarcerated for a drug store arrest in Broward County in 2003. The graphic footage from the Camden County sheriff shows the moments when the deputy left his patrol cruiser and began shouting.
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“Step out!” the deputy yells. “Get out! Get out! Put your damn hands back here.”
The two began to exchange words and Cure went to the back of his truck and put his hands on the back of the pickup prior to the deputy telling him he would tase him for speeding and reckless driving. That’s when Cure and deputy had a scuffle and Cure ended up on the ground and was fatally shot. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump said the family wants to see more video of a live stream they say Cure started when he was initially pulled over. “We want to see if they, in any way, had reasons to fear for their lives, where they had to use deadly force. The family is not convinced that you’re going to see that,” said Crump.
Leonard Cure tried to make up for the 16 years he lost imprisoned in Florida after being wrongfully convicted of armed robbery in 2004. Since being freed three years ago, he gave inspirational talks to high school students, worked a security job and, in middle age, was considering college after buying a home. Â
Seth Miller, executive director of the Innocence Project of Florida, who worked to help Cure win freedom, said he’s seen dozens of exonerated clients grapple with “an overarching fear that at any moment the cops are going to come” and take them back to jail or prison.
“That’s the context that people need to understand when they view any situation like this: You have a perfectly wonderful person who has a wrongful incarceration in their past and how that might contribute,” Miller said. “It is a tragedy all around.”
“Lenny was a good soul, cared about people,” Miller said. “He was getting his life back together.”
TRULY A SAD SITUATION. MR. CURE’S FAMILY DESERVES THE JUSTICE THAT HE CAN NO LONGER RECIEVE. HIS LIFE SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN TAKEN . IT’S SO SENSELESS THAT THOSE IN UNIFORM ARE BEENING ALLOWED TO TO TAKE THE LIVES OF OTHERS
white cops all ways making up lie on black people…
This is how so many black men lose their life. It’s ok to comply when you are not being dehumanized by a white cop with a gun. Cops feel as though they have a license to kill. This man’s life should not have been taken. His life shows that the system will lock up an innocent black man and kill him with no remorse. The cops will tell Blacks to put the guns down yet use theirs. This man was unarmed. Boy this has me in tears 😠The cop initiated this confrontation. Black men are not going to let you treat them like boys. We are not in slavery. Charge this Cop with 1st Degree Murder. That’s what they would’ve charged a Black Man for committing the same crime.
I feel he ran tht man’s name and was instantly irritated because of his past case…….He never should have tasted tht man for speeding..,,.Tht man was mentally tormented for 16YRS I dnt blame his reaction for being treated as such in a simple traffic stop….
I agree with you 1000%. The system had already taken 16 years of this man’s life. NOW THIS!!…Of course the officer knew who this man was; he is the aggressor in this case and needs to be charged! Such a sad and tragic situation.
I’m so sick of these white cops thinking that they’re the judge an the jury when they encounter a black individual. White people feel like they can treat all non white people with disrespect like they are more superior than other races ,it has hot to stop . Mr.Crump please teach them a lesson on respecting other people of color. Stand up people for what’s right .I believe all police should be evaluated every 3 months with tests that put them in hostel situations to see how they react to different situations before they can continue to patrolling in our communities.