Mississippi AG: Senate officer’s use of force was justified in shooting that killed 1-year-old

SENATOBIA, Miss. (WMC/Gray News) — A police officer’s use of force that resulted in the death of a 1-year-old child was justified, the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office announced Monday.

The announcement marks the conclusion of the state’s investigation into the death of 1-year-old Kohen Wiley, who was shot and killed June 14 in a Walmart parking lot in Senatobia.

That day, Senatobia police went to Walmart for a call about someone trying to steal diapers.

Officials said the call involved Wiley’s mother and great-aunt.

Wiley was in a car with his mother, who was holding him, and his great-aunt, who was driving, when a police officer fired shots at the vehicle. Wiley and his great-aunt were shot. Wiley died from his injuries.

The officer who fired his weapon has been placed on administrative leave, which city leaders said was standard practice after deadly police shootings.

The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation assigned five agents to the case to take statements and review witness accounts, body camera and dashcam videos and Walmart surveillance video.

In an initial account of the shooting, state investigators said: “Officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver drove toward the officers, nearly striking one. An officer then discharged his weapon and the vehicle fled the scene.”

This killing has drawn comparisons to other cases where Black people have lost their lives following charges of minor crimes, such as the murder of George Floyd.

Attorney Ben Crump, who rose to prominence representing the families of Floyd and other Black people killed by police, pointed out that the officers’ own report indicates they saw two women and a child get into the car. He wondered why the officer fired, knowing there was a child inside.

“They want us to believe this was a life and death situation,” Crump said at the time of the shooting. “They told us, but they didn’t show it to us.”