HOMEWOOD, AL.The state’s reluctance to make body-camera footage available during an inquiry is causing suspicion about the shooting, according to attorneys for the family of a Black adolescent who was shot and killed by police in a suburb of Alabama.
This family only desires accountability and openness. We regain our trust in this way. During a press conference with family members on Tuesday, civil rights lawyer Ben Crump stated, “We’re not asking for anything else that you wouldn’t want if it was your child.”
In an effort to gain access to the body-camera footage of the shooting death, Jabari Peoples’ family and their attorneys held a press conference on Tuesday.
On June 23, Peoples, 18, was shot by a police officer in the soccer field parking lot in Homewood, a wealthy suburb close to Birmingham’s downtown.
Peoples pulled a revolver from a car door during a tussle when the officer was attempting to arrest him for marijuana possession, according to the Homewood Police Department, and the officer then fired his firearm. According to an eyewitness, Peoples did not have a gun when he was approached, according to the family, who are contesting the police account of events. According to the family’s lawyer, Leroy Maxwell Jr., Peoples was shot in the back.
According to the Homewood Police Department, the officer’s body camera captured all of the incident’s specifics. The officer’s identify has not been made public by the department.
The footage is in the custody of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, which is investigating the use of force, but has refused to make it public while the inquiry is ongoing. According to a 2023 state law governing police recording release, an agency may decide not to make the recording public if doing so would interfere with an ongoing criminal investigation.
Amanda Wasden, an Alabama Law Enforcement Agency representative, stated in an email on Tuesday that the agency is still investigating the officer-involved incident that took place in Homewood.
Since the incident, activists have regularly held demonstrations in Homewood.
Crump said on Tuesday that by making the footage public, the police could silence us.
Simply make the video available. Prove that the officer did nothing improper and that it was appropriate. According to Crump, it comes down to trust because all too frequently we witness our children being slaughtered and they attempt to defend needless, indefensible homicides.
Portraits of their sons were cherished by the parents. According to them, he aspired to earn several degrees and pursue careers as a pilot and a police detective.
According to his mother, Vivian Sterling, he had many aspirations and was prepared to put in the effort to achieve them.
A vigil for Peoples was held near the soccer complex where he was shot last week, and hundreds of people showed up. The family brought up a big picture of Peoples with angel wings and released white balloons and doves. At the location of his murder, candles were lit in the shape of Jabari.
Around 9:30 p.m., Peoples and a female companion were sitting in a car at the Homewood Soccer Complex when a police officer pulled up. This is when the shooting started.
According to a social media statement from the Homewood Police Department, the officer detected a weapon in the driver’s side door pocket and smelled marijuana. According to the statement, a struggle broke out as the officer tried to handcuff Peoples in order to arrest him for possessing marijuana. The officer’s name has not been disclosed by the police.
Approximately 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of Homewood, in the city of the same name, Peoples graduated from Aliceville High School in 2024.
According to Maxwell, give this family what they so richly deserve—that is, to understand the precise circumstances surrounding their son’s and brother’s final moments.
