Alabama), Jul 1 (AP) 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 on 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.
Bron Peoples said his younger brother had a plan for his life and would write down his dreams for the future in a notebook. He said their parents had drilled into them how to behave when interacting with police. He said the family is “calling for justice".
“The truth needs to come out. The truth has to come out. We need the truth,” he said.
“We've got to continue to stand together so it won't happen to anyone else's brother, son, nephew, cousin. We got to stand together to make a change.”
The police said the details surrounding the incident were “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. (AP)
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