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Jabari Latrell Peoples, 18, was shot and killed June 23, 2025, by a Homewood police officer at Homewood soccer Park.
A police investigation into a parked vehicle at Homewood Soccer Park on Monday night ended in the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Jabari Latrell Peoples, prompting public scrutiny and conflicting accounts between law enforcement and the teen’s family.
In an initial release from the police department on Monday night, Sgt. Mark Trippe said that a Homewood officer was investigating a suspicious vehicle in the park, which police said was otherwise empty at the time. Police report that Peoples, of Aliceville, was inside the vehicle and engaged in a physical altercation with the officer when he pulled a gun.
The officer then shot Peoples. He was taken to UAB Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 10:06 p.m. The officer was treated at the scene by medics and released.
On Tuesday, Peoples’ family released a statement disputing the police account, stating that Peoples was unarmed, compliant and not resisting when he was shot. The family claims he was approached by an officer in an unmarked vehicle with no lights or sirens and taken to the ground “within seconds.” They also allege the officer failed to provide life-saving measures and claim he left Peoples to “bleed out on the street.”
The family says they were not informed of Peoples’ death until about 10 a.m. Tuesday — approximately 12 hours after his death — and were unaware an autopsy had been conducted.
Under Alabama law, coroners may order autopsies without next-of-kin consent in cases involving suspicious deaths, homicides or police-involved deaths. While state law mandates notification of death to next of kin, it does not specify a timeframe for when that must occur.
The Homewood Police Department released more details about the incident in a June 25 press release, reporting that the officer approached the parked vehicle in the back corner of the soccer complex around 9:30 p.m. The officer, who was in uniform and driving a marked patrol vehicle, reported detecting the smell of marijuana and ordered both occupants out of the vehicle. Police state that after Peoples exited, the officer saw a handgun in the open driver-side door. As the officer attempted to arrest him for unlawful possession of marijuana and other possible charges, Peoples allegedly resisted, knocking the officer to the ground. Police say Peoples retrieved the handgun from the door pocket, at which point the officer fired one round in self-defense.
The department says backup arrived within 96 seconds. Officers and paramedics rendered aid at the scene, and Peoples was transported to the hospital, where he was late pronounced dead.
Homewood Police said the incident was captured on body camera and that the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) has taken over the investigation. The department said arrangements are being made for Peoples’ family to view the footage. Per Alabama law, only ALEA is authorized to release body camera footage in police-involved death investigations.
The officer involved has been placed on paid leave for the duration of the investigation, per department policy.
