Tell-It Report: Alabama Teen’s Family Is Demanding Release of Video From Fatal Police Shooting

Police claim Jabari Peoples pulled a gun on an officer who tried to arrest him for weed possession, but his family doesn’t believe their story.

(Envato/ContrabandCamp)

In Gullah Geechee communities, a "tell-it" was a designated lookout, community warning system and the most trusted source for news and information. The Tell-It Report is ContrabandCamp’s weekly roundup of the Black stories that deserve more attention — from politics to entertainment.

Jabari Peoples’ family wants answers after the college-bound student was fatally shot by police during a traffic stop. Officials refuse to release the police bodycam footage.

Officials have replaced a majority of Flint’s lead-contaminated water pipes over a decade after the water crisis began.

Redemption Bank, the newest Black-owned bank and the only one west of Texas, will offer small business loans throughout the country.

Read the full stories below:

Family demands police bodycam footage from the fatal police shooting of teen be released; authorities refuse

The family of an Alabama teen who was fatally shot by police is demanding that authorities release the video footage so they can start to get some answers. State officials say they don’t have to do that.

Police killed 18-year-old recent high school graduate Jabari People at Homewood Soccer Park, AL.com reports. According to the Homewood police, a veteran cop who hasn’t been identified was investigating a parked car they deemed suspicious in an otherwise empty lot at about 9:30 p.m. on June 23. The department claims that Peoples got physical with the officer inside the car after he tried to arrest him on weed possession. Police claim that Peoples pulled a gun, prompting the cop to shoot him. The teen died at the hospital less than an hour afterward.

It wasn’t until the following morning that the family learned of Peoples’ death from the coroner’s office. By that time, his body had been transported, and an autopsy had been done without their consent.

“At no point were we notified by law enforcement or medical personnel,” his sister, Alice Nicole Smith, shared in a family statement on Facebook. “This was not just negligence. It was a violation. Of Jabari’s civil rights. Of our family’s human rights. Of due process. And of decency.”

Their attorney, Leroy Maxwell Jr., said Peoples was shot in the back and, according to a witness, didn’t have a gun, ABC News reports. The family is demanding transparency and accountability from the Homewood Police Department, including the release of the bodycam footage.

Homewood police turned the investigation over to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, per its policy. The agency has refused to release the video, claiming that it would interfere with the investigation. ALEA rejected last week’s disclosure request from the family.

“In accordance with state law and in the interest of protecting the constitutional rights of everyone involved, as well as prioritizing a thorough law enforcement investigation of the recorded subject matter, ALEA respectfully declined to make the requested disclosure,” spokesperson Amanda Wasden told AL.com.

Peoples was a college-bound star athlete who would’ve turned 19 on July 3. His family gathered to celebrate his life. A vigil was held last Monday at the park where he was killed. Black Lives Matter organizers have held numerous protests since his death.

“With these facts now established — the fatal shot to the back and the absence of a weapon — the only remaining question is what the body-worn camera footage will show,” Maxwell told the local outlet. “That video is critical. It is in the possession of ALEA and has yet to be shared with the family, despite repeated requests.”

Flint finishes lead pipe replacement project 11 years after water crisis

Flint, Michigan, has reached a significant turning point more than a decade after their water crisis began.

The city has replaced most of its water pipes after dangerous amounts of lead contaminated its water supply, Michigan Advance reports. State officials submitted a report last Tuesday that showed they replaced about 11,000 pipes and restored more than 28,000 properties.

Allen C. Overton, a plaintiff in the 2017 lawsuit against the city, celebrated the achievement in a statement to NBC News. "While this milestone is not all the justice our community deserves, it is a huge achievement."

In 2014, officials started using the Flint River as the city’s primary water source instead of buying water from Detroit to cut costs. The water was improperly treated, leading to corroded pipes and undrinkable water flowing into thousands of homes in the predominantly Black city. E. coli, bacteria and lead had contaminated their water supply, leading to nationwide outrage over officials’ negligence that reached an estimated 100,000 residents.

The pipe replacements are the result of a 2017 lawsuit that was settled in 2021 and included $626 million to be allocated to those who were impacted by the water crisis. Residents have yet to receive their payments.

“Residents of Flint deserve – and have always deserved – access to clean, safe drinking water and property repairs, full stop,” ACLU Michigan’s interim legal director Bonsitu Kitaba told the Advocate. “While we know that this is not a resolution for all the harms caused to the people of Flint from the water crisis, we celebrate this long-awaited win alongside you. We are committed to our partnership and the work ahead.”

About 4,000 homes still have lead pipes, which are likely vacant or belong to residents who opted out of the lead replacement program, according to NBC News. Scott Dean, a spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Environment, told the outlet that removing the remaining lead pipes this year is a “top priority.”

Redemption Bank becomes the first Black-owned bank in the Rockies

For the first time in history, there is a Black-owned bank in the Rockies, Redemption Bank.

Led by Ashley Bell, CEO and chairman of Redemption Holding Co., and Bernice King, activist and daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., Redemption Bank is also the first Black-led bank not physically located within an economically vulnerable community, the Associated Press reports. It is also the only Minority Depository Institution headquartered west of Texas.

Located in Salt Lake City, the bank will focus on commercial lending, catering to small businesses around the country via its virtual services. The news became official after Redemption Holding acquired Holladay Bank & Trust, based in Utah.

Bell told the AP, “We found an exceptional business environment in Utah, specifically in Holladay, along with a bank that has a clean balance sheet and a state with the highest average return on assets for banks in the country. We are committed to competing in Utah to earn the business of customers from all backgrounds.”

The bank currently has $65 million in assets. The acquisition comes with a clean balance sheet, profitability and previous management willing to stay on, an “extraordinarily rare starting point for a Black-owned bank in America,” Bell told Banking Dive.

King will serve as the company’s senior vice president for corporate strategy and also sit on the advisory board.

Redemption Bank is the 24th Black-owned bank in the country, according to AP.

“This system has offered no grace and no mercy for Black people in our country,” Bell told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2023. “We think that having a bank called Redemption, where grace and mercy will be bountiful for people who need it, is important.”

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