Homewood Leaders Push for Transparency in Jabari Peoples Case

State and local officials are urging the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) to allow the family of 18‑year‑old Jabari Peoples to view police body‑ and dash‑cam footage of the June 23 shooting that killed him at Homewood Soccer Park.

Republican Rep. David Faulkner, who represents about 70% of Homewood, told WBRC he hopes the family will be granted access soon. “I would like for the family to be able to see the video and hope that happens soon,” Faulkner said. “ALEA is doing a thorough investigation as they should, but hope the family could see the video evidence as soon as possible.”

Democratic Rep. Kelvin Datcher, who represents roughly 29% of the City, sent a letter to ALEA Secretary Hal Taylor. “I am firmly convinced that allowing the family to privately view the video — with appropriate safeguards — is not only reasonable but necessary to foster transparency and healing,” he wrote. Datcher added that he’s awaiting a response and wants to follow the family’s lead in the matter .

Homewood Mayor Alex Wyatt also supports the call. “Their request is completely understandable,” he said. “We know this is an incredibly difficult time for everyone involved, and want objective results made available to the family and the public as quickly as possible.”

ALEA currently holds the footage, citing a 2023 Alabama law that allows withholding evidence that could impact an ongoing investigation.

Meanwhile, the case has drawn attention from the Governor. On July 16, Gov. Kay Ivey stated, “The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency has made this case a top priority, and I am confident they are working to efficiently get this done. As soon as their investigation is complete, the body camera footage will be turned over to the local district attorney who will be able to show it to the family and whoever else he deems appropriate. It is important ALEA carefully and thoughtfully work this case, and I am confident the facts will prevail here.”

Homewood police say a veteran officer approached a parked vehicle after detecting marijuana odor near the soccer complex. They claim a physical struggle ensued, during which Peoples allegedly retrieved a handgun from the driver’s side door pocket, prompting the officer to fire.

The family disputes this narrative, asserting that Peoples was unarmed, cooperative, and shot in the back. Attorneys Ben Crump and Leroy Maxwell revealed an independent autopsy found a bullet wound in his lower back. Crump urged, “We need to see the video before we can have conclusions.”

They’ve also requested access to police reports and coroner records.

Alabama’s 2023 law lets agencies withhold recordings if disclosure could compromise an investigation. ALEA invokes this rule, stating “disclosure of the requested recording would affect the ongoing investigation.”

Rep. Jim Hill (R‑Moody), chair of the House Judiciary Committee, echoed this caution. He said that even private showings may risk leaks. “The most important thing to me in a criminal investigation is that you do it right and get it all buttoned up,” he told reporters .

The shooting has sparked protests, vigils, and community calls for justice.

On Monday night, July 14, protestors filled the front row at the first Homewood City Council since the shooting, calling for an organized boycott of downtown Homewood businesses and threatening sit-ins, die-ins and peaceful demonstrations outside storefronts. Reverend Dr. William Taft, a communications organizer with Black Lives Matter, said the group’s tactics are meant to disrupt everyday life until their demands are met.

“We are going to interrupt spaces that normally people would be in because this ain’t no joke to us. We are real about this. This is not something that we are just doing,” said Taft. “This is various organizations that stand for justice from across the city of Birmingham and across the state who are saying that if we have to, we are called to shut this city down.”

The group is demanding not only the release of the video, but a public acknowledgment from the Mayor of systemic racism within the Homewood Police Department, a formal apology from the police chief to the Peoples family and the name of the officer who fired the fatal shot.

Sources have reported to ALPolitics.com that the officer and their family have been moved into protective concealment due to threats made against them, but has yet to be confirmed.

At that meeting, City leaders told those in attendance that ALEA, not Homewood, has control of the tapes due to the ongoing investigation. 

Mayor Wyatt addressed the protesters during the meeting: “We don’t have the authority to release any of this information. ALEA is the only one with authority to do it.”

Despite Wyatt’s statement being an accurate reflection of current Alabama law, Taft appeared unwilling to accept it. 

“Support from Homewood at this point means continuously pressuring into ALEA for the release of the video to this family whom Black Lives Matter supports,” Taft said. “Support also looks like creating ways in this city to deal with the inside issues of racism through committee, through whatever we need to do to get that done…and in the words of attorney Ben Crump, if you let us see the video, it may just all be over…for now.”

A hearing on the matter is expected in August. Until the footage is viewed, the competing narratives hang in limbo, and Homewood businesses remain at risk from BLM-led protests.