Family of Alabama teen shot by police seeks access to video of shooting

HOMEWOOD, Ala. — Lawyers representing the family of a Black teenager shot and killed by police in an Alabama suburb said the state's refusal to release body-camera video during an investigation is fueling mistrust over the shooting.

''All this family wants is transparency plus accountability. And that's how we get back to trust. We're not asking for anything else that you wouldn't want if it was your child,'' Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney, said during a Tuesday press conference with family members.

Family members of Jabari Peoples and lawyers representing the family held a press conference Tuesday as they continue to seek access to the body-camera footage of the fatal shooting.

Peoples, 18, was shot June 23 by a police officer in the parking lot of a soccer field in Homewood, an affluent suburb near the central city of Birmingham.

The Homewood Police Department said the officer fired his weapon after Peoples grabbed at a gun from a car door during a scuffle as the officer was trying to arrest him for marijuana possession. The family is disputing the police version of events and said Peoples did not have a gun when he was approached, according to an eyewitness. Leroy Maxwell Jr., an attorney representing the family, said Peoples was shot in the back.

The Homewood Police Department said the details surrounding the incident are ''clearly captured'' on the officer's body camera. The department has not released the identity of the officer.

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, which is reviewing the use of force, has possession of the video but has declined to release it during the investigation. A 2023 state law that governs release of police recordings says an agency may choose to not disclose the recording if it would impact an active law enforcement investigation

''ALEA's investigation into the officer-involved shooting that occurred in Homewood remains ongoing,'' Amanda Wasden, a spokesperson for the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, wrote in a Tuesday email.

Activists have staged regular protests in Homewood since the shooting.

Crump said Tuesday that police could ''shut us up'' by releasing the video.

''Just release the video. Show us the officer did nothing wrong, Show us that it was justified. It's a matter of trust, because too often we see our children get killed and they try to justify unnecessary, unjustifiable killings,'' Crump said.

People's parents held portraits of their son. He had dreams of finishing multiple degrees and wanted to be a police detective and a pilot in the future, they said.

''He had a lot of dreams, and he was willing to work for his dreams,'' Vivian Sterling, his mother said.

Hundreds of people attended a vigil for Peoples last week at the soccer complex where he was shot. The family released doves and white balloons and brought in a large photo of Peoples with angel wings. Candles spelled out ''Jabari'' at the spot where he was killed.

The shooting unfolded about 9:30 p.m. when a police officer approached a car at the Homewood Soccer Complex where Peoples and a female friend were parked.

The Homewood Police Department posted a statement on social media that the officer smelled marijuana and noticed a handgun in the pocket of the driver's side door. The officer attempted to put Peoples in handcuffs to arrest him for marijuana possession and a struggle ensued, according to the statement. Police have not released the name of the officer.

Peoples is a 2024 graduate of Aliceville High School in the city of the same name, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of Homewood.

''Give this family what they so deserve, and that's to know exactly what was happening in their son's and their brother's last moments,'' Maxwell said.