According to the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office, the shooting of Jabari Peoples by a Homewood Police officer has been "deemed justified."
The announcement was made on Wednesday, shortly after the family had the opportunity to view video footage of the incident.
Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr confirmed what the Homewood Police Department had said all along, stating, "The officer attempted to place handcuffs on Mr. Peoples for officer safety. At that time Mr. Peoples began resisting and a tussle ensued. Mr. Peoples was subsequently able to escape from the custody of the officer. Mr. Peoples then ran back to his vehicle where he reached inside and grabbed a gun from the driver’s side of the vehicle."
"At the time of the shooting Mr. Peoples had the gun in his right hand and the officer fired one shot, hitting Mr. Peoples in the left side of the back causing injury that ultimately caused his death," he added.
Attorneys for the Peoples family held a press conference after the video viewing and encouraged media to fight for access to the video, saying that they still had questions and were not able to see all of the evidence in the case.
Ben Crump, one of the family's attorneys, said the video showed Peoples was shot in the back as he was running away, and he never pointed anything at the police officer.
The officer involved has not been identified.
The attorneys described seeing two videos: one of the shooting in real time, and the other of a slowed down version marked with notes from unknown investigators. However, they said that they were only shown a portion and none of the dashcam video or any other videos that may exist from the park.
“I think a good kid made a terrible decision that cost him his life,” Carr reportedly told AL(dot)com on Wednesday, adding, “It’s sad for everyone involved but the facts and the law dictated the decision that was made, not emotions."
He also said in a press release, "I informed the family, ALEA/SBI, Homewood Police Department, and the attorney for the officer involved in the shooting that after a thorough review of the facts and circumstances surrounding this incident, and based upon Sections 13A-3-23 and 13A-3-27(b)(2) of the Alabama Criminal Code, no criminal charges will be filed against the Homewood Police Officer involved in the shooting, nor will the matter be presented to a Grand Jury for its consideration, as this shooting is deemed justified."
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