Alabama Family Pleads For Bodycam Footage Of Fatal Police Shooting

The family of Jabari Peoples, a Black college student from Alabama who was tragically shot and killed by police, is demanding transparency as authorities refuse to release body-camera footage of the incident.

Jabari, an 18-year-old freshman studying computer information systems and criminal justice, was shot by a police officer in Homewood, Alabama, on June 23. The incident occurred while Jabari was seated in a vehicle with his girlfriend in the parking lot of a local soccer field.

The Homewood Police Department stated that an officer approached the vehicle and detected the smell of marijuana, leading to a request for Jabari and his girlfriend to exit the car. Allegedly, the officer tried to arrest Jabari for unlawful possession of marijuana, which he reportedly resisted. The officer claims that Jabari reached for a handgun in the car’s side pocket, prompting the officer to fire in self-defense.

Jabari was taken to UAB Hospital, where he was tragically pronounced dead.

The identity of the officer involved in the shooting has not been disclosed by the Homewood Police Department. The body camera footage has been handed over to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, but it has not been made public or shared with the family yet.

A spokesperson from ALEA informed JS that the body camera footage has not been released due to an ongoing investigation.

Family members stress the importance of viewing the video footage to gain a clearer understanding of the events leading to Jabari’s death.

Following an independent autopsy commissioned by Jabari’s family, it was revealed that he was shot in the back. However, the autopsy did not find an exit wound or bullet, raising further questions.

Attorney Leroy Maxwell, representing the Peoples family, stated, “There’s a crucial piece of evidence being withheld from us, and that’s the video. The family has a right to see it.”