District Attorney Declares Homewood Shooting Justified
Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Kerr confirmed on Wednesday that the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Jabarian by a Homewood police officer was justified, and no charges will be filed. This decision followed a review of body camera footage and findings from an investigation conducted by Alabama law enforcement regarding the incident that took place on June 23rd.
During a meeting with the families of those involved, Kerr shared the video and details of his findings. He explained that individuals were at Homewood Football Park, along with female passengers, when officers approached their vehicle due to suspicions of illegal activity in the park.
Kerr mentioned that officers detected the smell of marijuana and instructed the individuals to exit the vehicle. Upon doing so, they discovered a weapon inside. As officers attempted to detain them, a struggle ensued, and the individuals ran toward the car to retrieve their guns, whereupon Jabarian was shot in the lower left section of his back.
The officer, who has yet to be named but is confirmed to be Black, fired a single shot. Kerr stated that the body camera footage corroborated this sequence of events.
However, civil rights attorney Ben Crump, representing the families, contested this conclusion during a press conference following the meeting. Crump and the families were shown a four-minute edited video, which included only about a minute of actual interaction with the police.
“All we saw was a shot of an 18-year-old running away,” Crump remarked. “He never pointed a gun at an officer. This is not an open-and-shut case.”
Crump also criticized the limited, edited footage presented to the families, pointing out that it included segments annotated to indicate where the guns allegedly were. He expressed concern about how this portrayal could reflect bias.
“From what I saw, the gun seemed to be targeted even before Mr. Peoples approached the vehicle,” he continued. “It’s a matter of intent, and we won’t stop until we uncover the truth.”
Calls for full disclosure of the video have intensified community protests, including actions by Black Lives Matter and other local activists. Family lawyers are committed to pursuing legal avenues to secure the complete video footage.
“We will dot every ‘i’ and cross every ‘t’, leaving no stone unturned to find out why this young man was shot in the back as he tried to escape,” Crump stated.
Kerr defended his decision not to release the footage publicly, suggesting it was important for families to possess verified facts. “Sometimes, I may not finish the road that families want, but at least they are equipped with the truth. In this case, we did just that,” he said.
