Family seeks body camera footage from fatal police shooting of a black teen in Alabama

[Sugar Cookie]

Family members of a black teenager shot and killed by police in an Alabama suburb say they want answers and are seeking to see the body camera footage of the shooting.

Jabari 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 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. Leroy Maxwell Jr., an attorney representing the family, said Peoples was shot in the back and, according to a witness, did not have a weapon when approached by the officer.

Hundreds of people attended a vigil for Peoples 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 police department said the details surrounding the incident are “clearly captured” on the officer’s body camera. The department statement added that the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, which is reviewing the use of force, has possession of the video and will coordinate its release to the family.

Maxwell called on the agency to immediately release the footage.

They deserve to see with their own eyes what happened in Jabari’s final moments. The public deserves transparency. Jabari’s family deserves justice. And justice begins with the truth,” Maxwell said.

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency did not immediately return an email seeking comment.

The shooting unfolded at 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 door. The officer attempted to put Peoples in handcuffs to arrest him for marijuana possession and a struggle ensued, according to the statement.

“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,” the police statement said.

Continue reading

Family seeks body camera footage from fatal police shooting of a black teen in Alabama

Family members of a black teenager shot and killed by police in an Alabama suburb say they want answers and are seeking to see the body camera footage of the shooting.

nypost.com