CAMDEN COUNTY, Ga. — The Camden County Sheriff’s Office sergeant who shot and killed an exonerated man during a 2023 traffic stop is now facing federal civil rights violations for using excessive force and falsifying records to justify his actions, the Department of Justice announced Thursday.

A federal grand jury returned a 13-count indictment Thursday, charging current CCSO Sgt. Buck Aldridge, 42, with deprivation of rights under color of law and falsifying records, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Georgia.

Allegations in the indictment say Aldridge used excessive force on arrestees on four separate occasions, and then falsified multiple sheriff’s office reports to justify his use of force.

“Law enforcement officers are entrusted with the authority to uphold the law—not to break it,” said FBI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Paul Brown. “When that trust is violated, the FBI will act. No badge puts anyone above the Constitution. We remain committed to investigating civil rights violations and holding accountable those who abuse their power.”

Aldridge was fired from the sheriff’s office effective immediately, the agency said in a statement Thursday following Aldridge’s indictment.

“The Camden County Sheriff’s Office is committed to transparency and accountability at every level,” Sheriff Kevin Chane said in the statement. “Our duty is to serve the citizens of Camden County with integrity and professionalism.”

Oct. 16, 2023, Aldridge pulled over 53-year-old Leonard Cure for speeding on Interstate 95. Aldridge ordered Cure out of his vehicle and shocked him with a stun gun when he refused to put his hands behind his back.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation noted that Cure complied with Aldridge’s demands until he learned he was being arrested.

Dashcam video of the incident showed Cure lunging at the deputy, making swatting motions seemingly to remove the wire from the stun gun, and a struggle ensued between them, spilling onto the outside lane of I-95. The video showed Cure had his hand on Aldridge’s throat before he was shot point-blank.

Cure was wrongfully imprisoned for 16 years in Florida for a 2003 armed robbery in Broward County that he didn’t commit. He was fully exonerated in 2020 after an ATM receipt proved that Cure was miles away from the crime scene at the time of the robbery.

Just two months before his death, Cure received compensation from the state for the time he lost while wrongfully incarcerated. Loved ones said Cure planned to go back to college with the funds.

In February, Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Keith Higgins announced that he wouldn’t be seeking criminal charges against Aldridge for Cure’s death.

Cure’s death sparked national criticism and got the attention of civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and Harry Daniels, who represented Cure’s family in a 2024 federal lawsuit against Aldridge. The lawsuit remains active, and court records show a jury trial is slated for Feb. 3, 2026.

Cure’s family and attorneys, Crump and Daniels, will hold a press conference Friday alongside the Camden County NAACP in Brunswick to speak about Aldridge’s federal indictment. The press conference will be held at 12 p.m. Friday in front of the Frank M. Scarlett Federal Building, located at 05 Gloucester St. in Brunswick. 

Aldridge was fired from the Kingsland Police Department in 2017 for violating two agency policies: Use of Necessary and Appropriate Force and On/Off Duty Conduct policies. He had been employed with the police department for less than five years.

His employee records, obtained by First Coast News in 2023, stated that Aldridge was first disciplined in 2014 for 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 by a supervisor to attend mandatory training on communication skill building and was re-trained and counseled on properly conducting a traffic stop and probable cause for resisting arrest, the records state.

He was also reprimanded in June 2016 for driving too close behind a suspect vehicle.

Then, in April 2017, Aldridge was placed on administrative leave for “alleged misconduct,” but it was unclear what the misconduct was. After an internal investigation, the city manager suspended Aldridge without pay for three days and recommended a 12-month probationary period. Four months later, he was fired.

Prosecutors said Aldridge faces a maximum of 10 years in prison for each federal civil rights violation and 20 years for each false report.

If convicted, a federal district judge will determine his sentence.

The FBI Brunswick Field Office is continuing to investigate the case.