Aliceville demands answers after 18-year-old Jabari Peoples is killed by police in Homewood

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - The small town of Aliceville, Alabama, is in mourning after the death of 18-year-old Jabari Peoples, who was shot and killed by a Homewood police officer earlier this week.

A recent graduate of Aliceville High School and a well-known track athlete, Peoples’ death has stirred a mix of heartbreak and outrage, fueling growing calls for answers and transparency.

Those closest to Jabari describe him as calm, respectful, and focused, and someone who stayed out of trouble and had big plans for the future.

His high school track coach, Thomas Fitzgerald Wilkes, said simply: “I was shocked.” His quiet disbelief mirrors the mood of a community now grappling with more questions than answers.

Mayor Terrence Windham, who also has a background in law enforcement, is leading the push for accountability. He believes the family and the town deserve clarity and respect as they process the tragedy.

“I’ve worked in law enforcement for over a decade,” Windham said. “But there has to be some level of decorum when a young man’s life is lost and that’s how I feel about it.”

He added that Jabari’s age makes the loss even more difficult to accept. “He’s 18 years old. He had his whole life ahead of him, so I can only imagine. Just ask yourself and the viewers, if you lost one of your relatives at 18 and it was under the same circumstances.”

According to a statement from Homewood Police, a marked patrol unit approached Peoples on Monday night while he was parked at the Homewood Soccer Complex. Officers say they smelled marijuana and asked both Peoples and a passenger to step out of the vehicle. Police allege that a struggle followed and that Peoples reached for a gun located in the driver’s side door before resisting arrest.

But that account is being questioned by some in the community. Wilkes, though cautious not to speculate, acknowledged how the news left him unsettled.

“I don’t know, I wasn’t there,” Wilkes said. “But it makes me think that something got thrown out of hand or something like that.”

A post circulating on Facebook, reportedly written by a family member, claims that a witness at the scene contradicted the police version of events, stating that Peoples did not have a weapon, did not resist, and was not aggressive in any way.

Mayor Windham emphasized the need for due process and impartiality, while also acknowledging a painful truth: wrongdoing can happen in any profession.

“There’s bad people that work at Hardees, there’s bad people that work at McDonald’s, bad people that work at Chick-fil-A, or whatever the name of the place,” Windham said. “There’s also bad people that work as officers, and again, I’m not saying that this person was or was not, I just want us to make sure that we’re doing all the proper protocols so that family that’s grieving can have all the answers they need.”

His former teammates and classmates continue to grieve, remembering Jabari as a quiet leader and a loyal friend. Many say they never even saw him lose his temper, making the circumstances of his death even more difficult to believe.

As of now, Jabari Peoples’ family is not speaking publicly. They’ve stated that all comments will come through their attorney.

Their attorney, Leroy Maxwell Jr., released the following statement Wednesday evening:

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