Friday, October 20, 2023

What Happened To Leonard Cure?

Leonard Cure dies by police after a traffic stop.

While we are getting totally polarized by the war (and genocide) in the Israel-Gaza Strip, another issue happens. Our tone deaf politicians, often polarize police killings of unarmed Black men. On top of that, trolls who have no sympathy for victims of police killings of unarmed people often come to this blog to react to it.

According to the far right: White shooters are mentally ill. Black shooters are unrepentant criminals. Gay shooters are active groomers. Muslim shooters are terrorists. Hispanic and Asian shooters are illegal immigrants. Almost all mass shooters are registered Democrats because they have liked one thing common to the left. Of course, they often share disinformation by using the "Sam Hyde" meme as a way to denounce most mass shooters being white. They say a white person should "protect" from protesters and use of firearms are justified. They say if a shooter is active military or a veteran who supports conservative causes, they are considered a "heroes" and use of firearms are justified. If the shooters are teens, the far right automatically assume the gunmen are Black.

Think about how many white criminals live after at least firing rounds at police.

I am sick of how this country is practically losing its democracy.

Leonard Cure was exonerated for a crime he didn't commit in Florida. Only a few years out, he loses his life during a traffic stop in Georgia.

I don't condone the actions that Cure did to the deputy, but given how that white cop immediately was hostile and used force the moment he was rejected, shows how trigger happy this asshole was.

Washed Up 45 complains about a two-tiered justice system. Think about all the Black men who are wrongly convicted, shot upon sight or arrested for filming bad behavior from cops.

The family of Leonard Cure, 53, viewed the dash and body camera video before Camden County Sheriff Jim Proctor’s office posted it online. Relatives said they suspect Cure resisted being arrested because of psychological trauma from spending 16 years imprisoned in Florida for an armed robbery he didn’t commit.

“I believe there were possibly some issues going on, some mental issues with my brother,” Michael Cure said of his slain brother. “I know him quite well. The officer just triggered him, undoubtedly triggered him. It was excitement met with excitement.”

The sheriff released the video two days after one of his deputies, Buck Aldridge, who is white, pulled over Cure’s pickup truck on suspicion of reckless driving and, after a struggle, fatally shot him on Interstate 95 a few miles north of the Georgia-Florida line. Cure had been visiting his mother in Port St. Lucie, Florida, and was returning to a home he bought recently in metro Atlanta.

The moment the Georgia deputy shot Cure.

The video shows the deputy shouting several times for Cure to get out of his vehicle. Cure exits from the driver’s-side door, but at first refuses a command to put his hands on the back of the truck.

“I ain’t doing (expletive),” he tells the deputy.

Cure complies after the deputy threatens to use a stun gun on him. With his hands on the truck, he questions why he was pulled over.

“You passed me doing 100 miles per hour (160 kph),” the deputy replies.

When Cure ignores commands to put his hands behind his back, the deputy fires his stun gun — shocking Cure with electrified prongs connected to the weapon by wires. The video shows Cure spin around and start flailing his arms, as if trying to break free of the wire.

Cure grabs the deputy as highway traffic speeds past them. Both men can be seen grappling with arms around each others’ necks. Cure gets a hand on the deputy’s lower face and neck and begins forcing his head backward. The deputy strikes Cure in the side with a baton, but Cure maintains his grip.

“Yeah, bitch!” Cure says. Then a single pop can be heard.

Cure slumps to the ground and the deputy can be seen holding his handgun. He shouts at Cure to stay on the ground, then raises his radio.

“Shots fired, suspect down!” the deputy says. “Send help!”

The sheriff has placed the deputy, whose name has not been released, on administrative leave during a review by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which is customary in Georgia for shootings involving law enforcement officers.

The agency will send its findings to Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Keith Higgins, who will determine whether to seek charges.

Higgins met with Cure’s family Wednesday after the video was released. But the prosecutor’s spokeswoman, Cheryl Diprizio, said he would not make a final decision until the bureau finishes its investigation.

Studies show Black Americans face a disproportionate risk of being killed by police or wrongfully convicted of crimes compared to white people. Both happened to Cure.

After viewing the video, Cure’s relatives said they still believe shooting him was unnecessary. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the family, blamed the deputy for acting aggressively from the start and never attempting to de-escalate the conflict with Cure.

“He really should be alive,” Michael Cure said. “The officer hit him with his baton and he tased him, twice as a matter of fact. But he did not have to shoot him.”

Cop walk expected. The cop was fired from another agency before he took on a job in Camden County, Georgia.

Cure was wrongfully convicted of armed robbery in 2004 and was sentenced to life in prison in Florida, but authorities reviewing his case in 2020 concluded he didn’t commit the crime. He was released three years ago.

Cure’s mother and brothers said he lived in constant fear of being arrested and incarcerated again. Michael Cure said he’s confident that’s why his brother resisted arrest.

Before watching the video, Cure’s family held a news conference outside the Camden County courthouse. Mary Cure grasped a framed portrait of her slain son and said she knew when officers came to her Florida home Monday that he had been killed, even before they told her.

“I don’t feel, no matter what happened, that he should have been killed,” Mary Cure said.

When Cure was wrongfully imprisoned, the Innocence Project of Florida persuaded a case review unit of the Broward County prosecutor’s office to take a look at his case. That unit examined an ATM receipt and other evidence that Cure was miles away from the robbery. A judge vacated his conviction in 2020.

“He is someone that was failed by the system once and he has again been failed by the system. He’s been twice taken away from his family,” Seth Miller, executive director of the Innocence Project of Florida, said Wednesday.

Miller said that for so many of his clients, including Cure, their biggest fear is that an officer will knock on their door or stop them while driving “without cause, for something they didn’t do, send them back right where they worked so hard to get out of.”

“I can only imagine that must have been what he was thinking during this traffic stop,” Miller said.

These murderers don't have mental illness. They are calculated and prepared. It happened to be a moment where they have the opportunity to take out lives. There's no sickness in the head. Most mass shooters legally obtain their assault rifles without little background checks. They have likely no criminal history and they are willing to use the assault weapon in the only thing it's good for: Killing numerous lives.

I dismiss this ridiculous notion that criminals are the problem, not the guns. Firearms are often obtained through legal purchases. 

The National Rifle Association is always pushing against gun control. They will not relinquish from the narrative. These guns are not saving lives. The Republicans aided by a fickle junk food media are openly encouraging anarchy and disruption in a desperate attempt for the Republicans to win back Congress and the White House. These agitators are calling for President Joe Biden to curb crime but will not help him. They want more guns on the street but balk at the fact Blacks obtain them. It makes no sense.

So in closing, expect more.

The website Officer Down is a memorial to those who were killed in the line of duty. Those who don't get their names mentioned in the junk food media. Also the website the National Gun Violence Memorial also keeps record of the many individuals killed by gun violence. 

Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (Lifeline) at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or 988, or text the Crisis Text Line (text HELLO to 741741). Both services are free and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The deaf and hard of hearing can contact the Lifeline via TTY at 1-800-799-4889. All calls are confidential. Contact social media outlets directly if you are concerned about a friend’s social media updates or dial 911 in an emergency. Learn more on the Lifeline’s website or the Crisis Text Line’s website.

The call number to the U.S. Capitol is now going to be used. This is the official phone number, 202-224-3121. Let them know that "thoughts and prayers," "hearts going to" and "good guys with guns" are no longer acceptable and you want legislation to curb gun violence.

GUN VIOLENCE IS THE NUMBER ONE PROBLEM IN THE UNITED STATES.

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