Body camera footage shows that an Alabama teen fatally shot by a Homewood police officer in June was armed with a gun when he was killed, the Jefferson County District Attorney said Wednesday.
D.A. Danny Carr said he has ruled the shooting death of 18-year-old Jabari Peoples justified. No charges will be filed and the case will not be sent to a grand jury, Carr said.
Carr announced his decision immediately after meeting with Peoples’ family at 2 p.m. Wednesday.
The family was shown the law enforcement footage they have been asking to see since the fatal June 23 shooting in Homewood Soccer Park.
The family is expected to address the ruling in a press conference this afternoon with civil rights attorney Ben Crump.
“I think a good kid made a terrible decision that cost him his life,” Carr today told AL.com.
“It’s sad for everyone involved but the facts and the law dictated the decision that was made, not emotions,” Carr said.
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency led the investigation, which is standard for many officer-involved shootings – and turned over the results, as well as the footage, to Carr on Friday.
ALEA refused to release the footage publicly, saying it would harm the investigation.
Carr said the footage matched the series of events described by Homewood police immediately following the shooting.
Carr and Homewood police said they will not be releasing the footage to the public.
Carr declined to discuss his reasons for not releasing the video.
Peoples’ family and attorneys have claimed that the college student was not armed, did not resist, and did not deserve to die.
The shooting and refusal by ALEA to release the footage has sparked a series of protests by Black Lives Matter and other community activists, including some which led to arrests.
Carr said the video shows the officer pulling into the park.
The district attorney said it is his understanding there had been reports of possible criminal activity taking place in the city’s parks.
“Jabari Peoples was on the driver’s side and a young lady was on the passenger’s side,” Carr said.
The officer approached the vehicle and told them to roll down the window. The officer’s name has not been released but officials have confirmed he is a Black man.
“He could smell marijuana,” Carr said.
“He asked if there was marijuana in the car and the young lady said yes and gave him a jar that contained marijuana.”
The officer then got them to get out of the car.
“When Jabari opened his door, (the officer) could see a weapon in there,” Carr said.
“He moved Jabari back for officer safety and was going to put the cuffs on him, and then Jabari started to struggle with him.”
“A struggle ensued, and they fell to the ground,” the district attorney said. “He was on top of the officer.”
“At some point, he broke away and ran back toward the car,” Carr said.
“He reached into the driver’s side, grabbed a gun and the officer shot him.”
Peoples, who was holding the gun in his right hand, was shot one time in the lower left side of his back, Carr said. The officer fired only one shot, Carr added.
Carr said as district attorney it has always been his promise to provide facts and truth to all families who lose a loved one in an officer-involved shooting.
“Sometimes it may not end the way they want it to, but at least they’re armed with the facts and truth,” he said. “In this case we did just that.”
“I want to urge people to wait for the facts and the truth,” Carr said, “before you form an opinion.”
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.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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