‘Obviously Had Signs’: Georgia Deputy Who Killed Exonerated Man During Traffic Stop Faces Probe for Pummeling, Shocking Black Man In Another Violent Encounter Over Driver’s Speed
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is investigating the Camden County Sheriff’s Office deputy who killed the recently exonerated Leonard Cure during a traffic stop.
The GBI is looking into another traffic stop where Sgt. Buck Aldridge repeatedly used his Taser on a suspect who was already on the ground in June of 2022. Bodycam footage also showed a K9 being sicced on the suspect while he was on the ground.
According to News4JAX, Aldridge chased two vehicles as they sped on the highway after trying to pull them over for going 63 mph in a 70 mph zone. “Pull over before you kill somebody,” Aldridge could be heard saying over his megaphone. The chase lasted for 16 minutes as speeds reached 120 mph until one of the vehicles crashed.
Aldridge is seen on the video approaching the crashed vehicle with his gun drawn as he yells, “Show me your f—king hands, get your f—king hands up now, get em’ up.” As he opened the door, a man was seen lying on his back and falling out of the vehicle.
The man appeared to be hurt or disorientated as Aldridge put his gun away and instructed the man to get out.
The man tried to speak to Aldridge, but the deputy punched him in the head as he yelled, “Shut the f—k up!” Aldridge pulled the man out of the car, and as the man lay on the ground, another deputy approached.
The deputies yelled, “hands behind your back!” and it appeared as though the driver was trying to put his hand behind his back, but the deputies used their Tasers on him. However, the police report claimed the driver “continued to physically resist…pulling his hands away from up and trying to get back to his feet.”
As the driver — later identified as Raymond Cash — lay on his stomach, Deputy Ryan Sullivan brought out his K9 and sicced the police dog on Cash, who was bitten on his right arm. After Cash tried to push the dog off of him, Sullivan hit him in the face. Aldridge shocked him twice more before he was handcuffed. No weapon was found on Cash, who was arrested for fleeing, reckless driving, trafficking in illegal drugs and possession.
According to former Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office officer James Brown, Aldridge immediately used excessive force on the driver. “You see him doing nothing in any way to attack or threaten the officer,” Brown said of Aldridge punching the driver.
“According to his report, he said the driver was physically resisting him. I don’t see that,” Brown said. “Then you have the dog come up that’s biting him. He’s not worried about putting his hands behind his back. He’s probably in pain.”
“So a lot of that, I’d say is definitely a training issue, which sometimes officers can get caught up in the moment, but then again, you’re supposed to be a professional and pretty much trained to handle that,” he continued.
Brown also noted that Aldridge made similar mistakes when he pulled over 53-year-old Cure.
Cure — who was recently exonerated for a crime he didn’t commit after serving 16 years in jail — was shot and killed during a traffic stop on Interstate 95 near the Georgia-Florida state line by Aldridge on Oct. 16. Video captured the deputy fatally shooting Cure after using a Taser on him despite Cure following his instructions. Cure became uncompliant after Aldridge said he was going to arrest him. A fight ensued, and the deputy shot and killed Cure.
WATCH BODY CAMERA FOOTAGE HERE.
“I can see the comparison thing would be poor decision-making,” Brown said. “Here, you see him confront an individual well before his backup gets there. And you had the same thing in the previous incident. You obviously had signs that this could be a lot more of a problematic arrest than you expected.”
Aldridge is currently on administrative leave due to the shooting and death of Cure, and the deputy was fired before for using excessive force.
According to First Coast News, Aldridge was fired from the Kingsland Police Department back in 2017 for violating the department’s Use of Necessary and Appropriate Force and On/Off Duty Conduct policies.
The deputy worked for the KPD for five years and received his first disciplinary action in February 2014 after using “unnecessary force on an individual during the course of a traffic stop to take the person into custody based on the belief that probable cause existed for a crime that was occurring.”
Aldridge was ordered to attend mandatory training on communication skill building and be re-trained and counseled on how to properly conduct a traffic stop. He was also ordered to get re-trained on “probable cause for resisting arrest.”
Aldridge was placed on administrative leave in April of 2017 leave for his “alleged misconduct.”
The city manager suspended him without pay for three days and recommended a 12-month probationary period following an internal investigation. The exact actions that caused the investigations are unclear, and he was terminated four months later before eventually being hired by the Camden County Sheriff’s Office.
News4JAX asked Brown if he thought it was necessary to pull over the driver for going 63 mph in a 70 mph zone. Brown said that Aldridge was investigating why traffic slowed, so the pursuit was justified.
Camden County Sheriff’s Office employees have a history of violent arrests. On May 4, 2021, Camden County deputies shot and killed Latoya James while executing a raid at her cousin’s home in Woodbine, Georgia.
Multiple Camden County deputies were also arrested for the brutal beating of Jarrett Hobbs on Sept. 3, 2022, inside a county jail in Georgia.
Sheriff’s Deputy Corporal Brian Beagle, Officer Corporal Mason Garrick and Officer Braxton Massey were indicted on May 17 following an investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Video captured the men beating Hobbs after he banged on the door of his jail cell.
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