Jabari Peoples’ family seeks transparency and “answers.”
The 18-year-old college student was shot and killed by a police officer in Homewood, Alabama, on Monday evening, June 23, and his family has since stated that they were not notified until after an autopsy had been conducted. They also claim that the details of the shooting as reported by police are incorrect.
“We have not received a full incident report,” the family stated in a Facebook post on Tuesday, June 24. “We have not been given any footage. We have not received an explanation from the Homewood Police Department.”
The family’s attorney, Leroy Maxwell Jr., told Alabama outlet WBRC that some members of the family learnt of Peoples’ death through the news before being contacted by officials.
“The father was watching TV and saw that a young man had been gunned down in Homewood,” Maxwell said. “And he thought, ‘Boy, that’s unfortunate; that’s a sad thing. “He had no idea they were discussing his own son.”
According to an initial statement from the Homewood Police Department (HPD) shared on June 24, an officer was investigating a “suspicious vehicle” near an athletic complex around 9:30 p.m. local time on June 23, when one of the occupants “engaged in a physical altercation with the officer” and “produced a handgun, resulting in an officer involved shooting.”
On Wednesday, June 25, the department released additional information about the shooting in a press release, seemingly in response to the family’s request for transparency.
According to the release, as the officer approached the parked vehicle near the Homewood Soccer Complex, he “smelt the odour of marijuana” and ordered both occupants, including Peoples, to exit.
After the teen, who was driving, exited, the officer “observed a handgun in the door pocket of the open driver’s side door” and attempted to handcuff Peoples to arrest him for unlawful possession of marijuana when he “began to actively resist,” according to the release.
During the struggle, the officer was knocked down, and Peoples “broke away” and “retrieved the handgun,” prompting the officer to fire one round “to defend himself, in accordance with Alabama state law,” the release stated.
The other vehicle occupant — identified by the family’s attorney as Peoples’ girlfriend, who had previously fled into the woods — began to approach the area, prompting the officer to call for backup. Backup arrived about a minute and a half later and began providing medical treatment to Peoples, according to the release. He was then taken to the hospital, where he was eventually pronounced dead.
Peoples’ family stated on social media that the teen was “not armed,” “not aggressive,” “did not resist,” and “complied.”
“He was approached by someone in an unmarked vehicle with no lights, sirens, or visible identification. That officer exited the vehicle, tapped the window, and instructed the occupants to exit. “They followed the instructions,” the family wrote. “Jabari complied — and within seconds, he was taken down and shot. A witness was present. That person witnessed everything. There was no weapon. “There was no threat.”
In a June 25 follow-up, the HPD stated that “the details surrounding this incident are clearly captured on the officer’s body-worn camera.” According to the department, the footage is now in the possession of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (which has taken over the investigation) and plans are being made “to coordinate viewing of the video by Mr. Peoples’ family.”
“This sequence of events, resulting in the loss of life, is tragic and we empathise with Mr. Peoples’ family as they grieve,” according to the agency.
The family’s attorney, however, claims that authorities have made no genuine effort to communicate with them. Maxwell described the HPD’s portrayal of the situation to WBRC as a “charade.”
“If this video shows what we think it’s going to show, then Homewood and law enforcement need to be prepared to take accountability for it,” according to the lawyer.
On Saturday, June 28, the HPD and Alabama Law Enforcement Agency did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment.
In Peoples’ family’s June 24 statement, they also claimed that in the 12 hours after the teenager was pronounced dead, “at no point were we notified by law enforcement or medical personnel.”
Instead, the family claimed the coroner notified them the following morning, after which his autopsy was allegedly performed without their knowledge or consent. “We were denied our right to identify him. We were denied our right to be present. The family wrote, “We were denied basic dignity.”
“Jabari was a college student.” He had a family. He had a future. He was unarmed. He complied. “And now he’s gone,” Peoples’ loved ones added.
“We will pursue this case until the truth is fully exposed and justice is served, not only for Jabari, but for every family who’s been forced to bury a loved one without answers,” the mourners said.
