One of the country’s most racist organizations has exploited a fatal traffic stop for the sinister purpose of sowing hatred.
In response to Monday’s shooting of Leonard Cure — a black man — by a sheriff’s deputy in Camden County, Georgia, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) decried “anti-Blackness in policing.”
Car cam and body cam footage released Wednesday, however, exposed the SPLC’s race-baiting lie.
On its website, the SPLC describes itself as a “catalyst for racial justice in the South and beyond, working in partnership with communities to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements.”
Small wonder, then, that the SPLC leapt at the chance to place Cure’s death in a racial context. Those phony “racial justice” warriors behave as if they want another George Floyd incident.
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“SPLC is deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Leonard Cure in Camden County, GA. We urgently call for a transformation in policing that honors every individual’s rights. The ongoing anti-Blackness in policing must end. Every leader must act for justice and accountability,” the SPLC tweeted on Wednesday.
SPLC is deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Leonard Cure in Camden County, GA. We urgently call for a transformation in policing that honors every individual’s rights. The ongoing anti-Blackness in policing must end. Every leader must act for justice and accountability. pic.twitter.com/lNREN79EW9
— Southern Poverty Law Center (@splcenter) October 18, 2023
Graphic car-cam footage of the fatal encounter, however, showed that race played no role in the traffic stop. In fact, it proved that the sheriff’s deputy could not possibly have known Cure’s skin color before pulling him over.
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The car cam showed the deputy’s car cruising at moderate speed in the extreme right lane of northbound I-95. Then, 15 seconds into the video, Cure’s truck roared past in the extreme left lane. At that point, the deputy changed lanes and gave chase.
It took Cure a while to navigate traffic and safely pull over, but after a minute or so, he finally did.
The deputy then repeatedly ordered Cure to get out of his vehicle.
“Step out. Step out! Get out! Get out! Put your hands back here,” the deputy said, pointing to the back of the truck.
Cure got out of the truck but otherwise did not comply.
“I ain’t doin’ s***,” he said, setting the tone for the entire encounter.
At that point, Cure’s behavior became strange. The deputy tried to grab Cure, but Cure resisted and stood at attention like a soldier.
“My name is Yah-wee,” Cure appeared to say.
“I don’t care. Step to the rear of this vehicle,” the deputy replied.
After questioning the deputy’s authority, Cure complied, albeit in a mocking manner. The deputy threatened to use a taser.
Cure finally placed both hands on the back of the truck, but the deputy sent a radio message to dispatch about a “non-compliant.”
Moments later, Cure asked if he had a warrant. The deputy again threatened to use a taser unless Cure put his hands behind his back. Cure asked why.
“Cause you are under arrest for speeding and reckless driving,” the deputy replied.
Cure protested that no one was hurt, but the deputy informed him that he had been driving 100 miles per hour.
“OK, so that’s a speeding ticket, right?” Cure answered. The deputy informed him that in Georgia, such actions constitute a criminal offense.
Then came the trigger for the conflict.
“I’m not going to jail,” Cure said.
“Yes, you are going to jail,” the deputy replied.
Cure appeared to point toward the sky. When the deputy came closer and again demanded that Cure put his hands behind his back, Cure took several swipes at the deputy’s taser. Then, the fight began.
The deputy tried to get Cure in a chokehold, but Cure got the advantage and drove his hand into the deputy’s face.
Bending the deputy’s neck and back, Cure taunted him.
“Yeah, b****. Yeah, b****,” Cure said twice.
At that point, the deputy managed to get his gun and fire a shot into Cure’s body. Cure collapsed onto the ground.
The video continued for another eight minutes. A Brinks truck arrived, and the driver helped the deputy by keeping a gun trained on the now-flailing Cure.
The exhausted deputy called for backup, repeatedly yelled “stay down!” and at one point collapsed onto the front of his vehicle.
Less than two minutes later, other officers arrived. The deputy then knelt down next to Cure.
“Hey. You look at me. You ain’t goin’ no d*** where,” the deputy said to the fatally wounded man.
When the other officers began tending to Cure, the deputy walked away with a look of apparent shock and put his head down on the hood of his car.
Less than a minute later, an officer tried to restart Cure’s heart. That went on for several minutes.
Near the end of the video, the deputy could be heard weeping and hyperventilating as his fellow officers tried to console him.
WARNING: The following videos contain extreme graphic violence that some may find offensive. Viewer discretion is advised.
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The deputy’s body cam provided another angle.
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Everything about this story leaves one sickened with grief for everyone involved.
Cure’s tragic past, for instance, included a wrongful conviction and lengthy incarceration in Florida. That fact alone provides important context regarding Cure’s possible psychological state when confronted by a member of law enforcement.
In a message shared Tuesday on social media, the Georgia Innocence Project described Cure as “a wonderful friend and an active participant in educating Georgians about wrongful conviction.” The message added that Cure had begun “a new and hopeful chapter in his life.”
The Georgia Innocence Project, however, also asked readers to treat reports of the fatal incident with “heightened scrutiny, given what we know of our country’s record of unwarranted police shootings.”
Rest in Power, Leonard Cure pic.twitter.com/v55tEgmTLJ
— Georgia Innocence Project (@GaInnocence) October 17, 2023
In light of the videos released Wednesday, the Georgia Innocence Project bears at least some responsibility for mentioning police conduct, even in a general way.
On the other hand, at least the Georgia Innocence Project raised the specter of “unwarranted police shootings” without injecting race.
The SPLC, on the other hand, deserves only condemnation for its premature judgment of “anti-Blackness in policing.” In light of 2020’s horrific events, that sort of incendiary language covers the entire organization in shame.
