An Alabama family is demanding answers after a Black teen was shot and killed by police. The family of Jabari Peoples is offering a very different story from what local police are saying led to the teen’s death. While police claim the officer shot the teen in self-defense after seeing a gun, the family claims that is untrue. The family also claims they were denied basic rights like identifying the body and authorizing an autopsy. Now, they are pushing the police to release the bodycam footage to have an accurate account of what really happened.
On Monday, June 23, 2025, police approached a “suspicious vehicle” in an athletic center parking lot in Homewood, Alabama, WBRC reported. Police claimed they smelled marijuana coming from the car. When they demanded the two people get out of the car, they claim they noticed 18-year-old Jabari Peoples, who was driving, had a handgun in the car door.
According to police, when the authorities attempted to handcuff the teen, he resisted. A physical altercation ensued, causing the police officer to get knocked to the ground. Police officials claim Peoples reached for the gun, “creating an immediate deadly threat to the officer.” The officer fired one round from his gun, to allegedly defend himself, hitting the teen. Jabari Peoples was taken to UAB Hospital in Birmingham, where he later died.
“This sequence of events, resulting in the loss of life, is tragic, and we empathize with Mr. Peoples’ family as they grieve,” Homewood Police said in a statement.
The family released an “official” statement on Facebook, detailing their experiences so far. “At no point were we notified by law enforcement or medical personnel,” they said. “Instead, our family was contacted by the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office at 10:00 AM the following morning — over 12 hours after Jabari was pronounced dead.”
According to the family, the young man’s body had already been transported and autopsied. They say they weren’t contacted prior to the autopsy, nor did they give their consent. When they were contacted, they were instructed to send a funeral home to pick up the body.
“We were denied the right to identify him,” they said. “We were denied basic dignity.”
Per police department policy, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency will take over the case from the Homewood Police, WBRC reported. Homewood Police said bodycam footage of the incident was captured, but ALEA has possession of the footage. As a result, only ALEA has the right to release the footage.
The family claims their requests to view the footage have been ignored. “It doesn’t make sense why we’re not getting the answers that we deserve from law enforcement. Specifically from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency,” their lawyer, Leroy Maxwell Jr., told WBRC.
Homewood police released a statement saying that arrangements would be made for the family to view the footage. However, Maxwell called the claim a “charade.”
“Give us a timeline when we can view the video and stop the charade and misleading the public to make it seem as if you’re working with us,” Maxwell said. “We’ve done everything possible and everything ALEA has asked us to view this footage now, to view it immediately. And they won’t even do us the consideration of giving us a timetable of when we can watch the video.”
“Jabari was a college student. He had a family. He had a future,” the family said in their statement. The statement continued, making the claim that the teen was unarmed at the time of the incident. “He complied. And now he’s gone.”
The family firmly stated they 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.”
