On Thursday, Birmingham mayoral candidate State Rep. Juandalynn Givan (D-Birmingham) weighed in on the shooting of Jabari Peoples by a Homewood Police officer, which the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office deemed a "justified" shooting because he had a gun.
Givan, who is an attorney challenging incumbent Mayor Randall Woodfin, emphasized the importance of people cooperating with law enforcement, especially when in possession of a gun.
“We should be trying to teach people, and especially if there is a situation in which black people are killed at a more rapid rate by law enforcement, what to do when you're at a traffic stop, what to do when the police approaches, how to handle yourself," Givan said on "Alabama's Morning News with JT." If you have a gun, just stop. Attorney Danny Carr always says — [when] he and I are on panels — 'You can't win at the traffic stop.'"
"And I'm guilty of it for years, and I finally got to a point because I would get so mad, and I would find myself in the moment. ... But I had to also realize, looking at what is going on, or what was going on across the country, that I needed to maybe focus in on a different type of tone, tenor, demeanor, and as you said, give the driver's license over, take the charge, and deal with it, as Danny Carr always says to the public, in the courthouse, you can't win at the traffic stop. You can't win at the point that the law enforcement officer says stop. You cannot win.”
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