“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.
We have no idea if he complied before. Given the fact that his sentence was only so long due to a previous record, it seems more likely that not complying was his usual stance. I don’t know this for sure, obviously, but it does seem more likely.The previous statement is misinformation, I believe. One of the attorneys in the exoneration said that he complied with the original arrest and thought he’d be able to simply explain that he wasn’t the robber, which obviously did not go in his favor. While it definitely helps explain his actions, I still do not believe assaulting an officer is the right path to take, though I do understand it better now.But there’s such a vast gulf between “complying” and “attempting to kill (or at least cause serious bodily harm to) an officer” that I have a hard time finding the officer at fault here. Why did he flee? Why did he refuse lawful commands? Why did he give his name as “Yahweh” as far as I can hear? Why did he attempt to assault the officer after being tased? What was he planning to do to the officer had he not fired, as the repeated “Yeah bitch” suggested very violent intent to me. These are all valid questions that I hope we get answers to, but it’s unlikely that we will. All any of us can do is watch the video- which is the most direct evidence of the truth- and form our opinions based on that.
“Why did he flee?” Because he had been wrongfully accused and sent to prison for 16 years before, obviously! “Why did he refuse lawful commands?” Because those enforcing it are lawless and wrongfully sent him to prison for 16 years. “Why did he attempt to assault the officer after being tazed?” Are you being serious right now? Have you ever been tazed before? It’s an awful experience and does awful things to your heart, especially in the moment and especially to someone who is older. He obviously must have held a grudge after 16 years in prison and might even have promised himself to not go down without a fight next time, or maybe loose the rest of his lofe in prison. Guess he “just” ended up losing the rest of his life period.
Maybe try to live a little more empathetically and learn to try and put yourself in others’ situation, given what they’ve been through. This is an obvious egregious case and awful that it had ended like this. Not sure if you’re aware of how corrupt the federal government are in the US and about their internal gangs and racism towards non-caucasians.
I am well, well aware of how shitty the system is, I assure you. But given how you patronized me (“Maybe try to live a little more empathetically”- sincerely, go fuck yourself, you self-righteous prick), I don’t feel like arguing. All I’ll say is this- Leonard Cure’s death is a sad situation that was avoidable with different choices from either party. The officer made mistakes, but given Cure’s erratic behavior (my bet is that toxicology will show that he was high on some sort of stimulant given the strange “Yahweh” answer, the disjointed head and arm movement, aggression, and lack of pain response to the taser, baton, or bullet), combativeness, and noncompliance, I completely understand why the officer defended himself. If this was an “obvious egregious case”, then why is it being discussed here and throughout the internet?