A Republican state lawmaker who represents most of Homewood said he hopes the family of Jabari Peoples will be allowed to watch the police video of the incident when 18-year-old was shot to death by a police officer at Homewood Soccer Park.
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency is investigating the shooting, which is the standard practice for police shootings in Alabama.
ALEA has declined to allow Peoples’ family to see the police body camera and dash camera footage of the incident, saying that would jeopardize the investigation.
“I would like for the family to be able to see the video and hope that happens soon,” Rep. David Faulkner, whose district includes 70% of the population of Homewood, said in a text message.
“I know the HPD (Homewood Police Department) wants that to happen too. I understand ALEA is doing a thorough investigation as they should, but hope the video can be shown to the family as soon as possible.”
Faulkner is a lawyer who serves on the Alabama House Judiciary Committee.
Faulkner’s comment follows a statement by Homewood Mayor Alex Wyatt on Monday urging ALEA to show the family the video.
“Their request is completely understandable,” Wyatt said.
“We know this is an incredibly difficult time for everyone involved,” Wyatt said in his statement, “and want objective results made available to the family and the public as quickly as possible.”
In a statement on June 25, two days after the shooting, Homewood police said the incident was captured on video and said arrangements were being made for his family to watch the footage.
But with the investigation turned over to ALEA, Wyatt said the city legally doesn’t have the authority to release the footage.
Under the law, ALEA controls access to evidence because it is the custodian of the footage.
Peoples was a 2024 graduate of Aliceville High School where he was standout track athlete and football player.
Peoples had just finished his freshman year at Alabama A&M where he was studying computer information and criminal justice with hopes of becoming a law enforcement officer, specifically a detective. He worked as a security guard at DCH Regional Medical Center in Tuscaloosa.
The shooting happened June 23 in Homewood Soccer Park.
Homewood police say a veteran officer, who has not been publicly identified, approached a vehicle to investigate because of a recent increase in criminal activity in and around the city’s athletic complexes.
The officer, police say, smelled marijuana and ordered Peoples and his female friend out of the vehicle.
Police say the encounter ended with Peoples resisting, breaking away from the officer as he tried to handcuff him, and grabbing a gun from the driver’s side door pocket.
The officer shot Peoples, who was pronounced dead a short time later at UAB Hospital.
Peoples’ family and attorneys disagreed with that narrative, saying that Peoples wasn’t armed and didn’t resist.
The Homewood Police Department turned the investigation over to ALEA, which is standard policy for many officer-involved shootings.
ALEA denied the family’s request to see the footage, saying the release of the video would jeopardize the ongoing investigation.
Lawyers for Peoples’ family, Leroy Maxwell and Ben Crump, held a press conference on Tuesday and said an independent autopsy showed that Peoples was shot in the lower back, just above the buttocks.
They said there was little more they could draw from the examination without context that they say could be provided through the release of body camera and dash cam footage.
They also seek other supporting documents, such as police reports and records from the Jefferson County Coroner/Medical Examiner’s office, which conducted the official autopsy.
“I emphasize it is a preliminary finding because we don’t have all the evidence,” Crump said, “and you cannot draw conclusions until you get all of the evidence.”
“We need to see the video before we can have conclusions,” he said. “This helps the family at least have some questions answered, but it’s not conclusive yet.”
An Alabama law passed in 2023 sets up a procedure for families to request to see police videos but does not require authorities to allow that.
Rep. Jim Hill, R-Moody, a retired circuit judge who chairs the Alabama House Judiciary Committee, said he understands the family’s position but said he would err on the side of protecting the investigation.
“I realize the press very much wants to know what’s going on and the family very much wants to know what’s going on,” Hill said.
“And I appreciate that. However, the most important thing that law enforcement does is investigation and getting it right. And they don’t need to be releasing information until such time as they’re in a position to be very comfortable that they’re not compromising any of their sources, any of their investigation.
“The most important thing to me in a criminal investigation is that you do it right and that you get it all buttoned up.”
Hill said a private showing of a police video to a family would still carry the risk of compromising an investigation.
“Just because you say this is confidential does not necessarily mean somebody is going to keep it that way,” Hill said.
“Again, I go back to my concern is always going to be – are the police compromising anything in releasing any level of information until such time that they are ready to do so and comfortable doing that?
“Until they are comfortable releasing information, I understand the rationale of keeping it to themselves.”
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.