Jabari Peoples' Family Says They Want ‘Answers’ and Bodycam Footage After 18-Year-Old Was Shot and Killed by Police

Jabari Peoples’ family wants transparency — and “answers.”

In the evening of Monday, June 23, the 18-year-old college student was shot and killed by a police officer in Homewood, Ala., and his family has since said they were not notified until after an autopsy had already been conducted. They also claim that the details of the shooting, as given by police, are not true.

“We have not received a full incident report,” the family wrote in a statement on Facebook on Tuesday, June 24. “We have not been given footage. We have not heard one word of explanation from the Homewood Police Department.”

Some of the family even learned of Peoples’ death from the news before they were contacted by officials, the family’s attorney, Leroy Maxwell Jr., told Alabama outlet WBRC.

“The father was watching TV and saw that a young man had been gunned down in Homewood,” Maxwell told the outlet. “And he thought, ‘Boy that’s unfortunate, that’s a sad thing.’ He had no idea they were talking about 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 of the vehicle “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 more details about the shooting in a press release, seemingly in response to the family’s call for transparency. 

That release said that, as the officer approached the vehicle, which was parked by the Homewood Soccer Complex, he “smelled the odor of marijuana” and ordered both occupants, including Peoples, to exit.

After the teen, who was the driver, 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,” the release continued.

In the struggle, the officer was knocked down, and Peoples “broke away” and “retrieved the handgun,” leading the officer to fire one round “to defend himself, in accordance with Alabama state law,” the release added.

The other vehicle occupant — who was identified by the family’s attorney as Peoples’ girlfriend, who had previously fled into the woods — began to reapproach the area, so the officer called for backup. About a minute and a half later, backup arrived and began issuing medical treatment to Peoples, per the release. He was then transported to the hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

Peoples’ family said in their social media statement, however, that the teen “was not armed,” “was not aggressive,” “did not resist” and “complied.”

“He was approached by an individual in an unmarked vehicle, with no lights, no sirens, and no visible identification. That officer exited the car, tapped on the window, and told the occupants to exit. They followed directions,” the family wrote. “Jabari complied — and within seconds, he was taken to the ground and shot. A witness was present. That person saw everything. There was no weapon. There was no threat.”

In the June 25 follow-up, the HPD said 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 possession of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (which has assumed responsibility for the investigation) and arrangements 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 empathize with Mr. Peoples’ family as they grieve,” the department stated.

The family’s attorney said, however, that there has not been any real effort from authorities to communicate with them. The HPD’s portrayal of the situation, Maxwell told WBRC, is 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,” the attorney added.

The HPD and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment on Saturday, June 28.

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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 said the coroner notified them the next morning, at which point his autopsy was allegedly conducted without the family’s knowledge or consent. “We were denied the right to identify him. We were denied the right to be present. We were denied basic dignity,” the family wrote.

“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 continued.

“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 family added.