Photo: Harry Wedzinga / iStock / Getty Images
Alabama authorities have declined to release body camera footage from the fatal police shooting of an 18-year-old Black teenager despite his family's pleas, per the Associated Press.
Jabari Peoples, 18, was shot and killed by a Homewood police officer on June 23 at Homewood Soccer Park.
According to the Homewood Police Department, the fatal shooting unfolded at roughly 9:30 p.m. after an officer, who remains unidentified, approached a vehicle at the Homewood Soccer Complex, where Peoples and another woman were parked. The officer allegedly smelled marijuana and saw a handgun in the pocket of the driver's door. As the officer attempted to arrest Peoples for marijuana possession, a struggle ensued, according to police.
“Peoples broke away from the officer and retrieved the handgun from the open driver’s side door pocket, creating an immediate deadly threat to the officer. The officer, fearing for his safety, fired one round from his service weapon to defend himself,” police said in a statement.
Peoples' family strongly disputes the police's account of the shooting. Peoples' girlfriend, the woman present during the fatal incident, said he was unarmed and didn't resist arrest. A private investigator commissioned by the family believes Peoples was shot in the back.
The family has pleaded with police to release body camera footage of the shooting to shed light on what led to Peoples' death. However, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) denied the family's request on Tuesday (July 1), citing its ongoing investigation. In a statement, the ALEA said it would not release the video “in accordance with state law and in the interest of protecting the constitutional rights of everyone involved, as well as prioritizing a thorough law enforcement investigation of the recorded subject matter."
A protest was held outside of ALEA's office after the agency handed down the decision.
“If they don’t have anything to hide, then they can show the video,” Eric Hall of Black Lives Matter Birmingham said. “So every day, we got to demand justice and we have to uplift the demands of the family.”
Roughly 60 people marched from the Homewood Police Department to ALEA’s nearby building. “We want to know the officer’s name, badge number,” Hall said. “We want the video released right now. The family deserves that.”
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