The family of a 1-year-old boy who was killed when police opened fire on a moving vehicle in a Mississippi Walmart parking lot is calling on authorities to make all video footage of the incident public. They want the recordings to show whether officers were actually at risk of being struck before one of them pulled the trigger.
Kohen Wiley was in the car with his mother and another woman on June 14 when Senatobia police arrived to respond to a shoplifting call. The family contends they were simply driving away from the scene, while officers claim the vehicle was moving directly toward them.
“I watched my baby take his first breath, and I watched my baby take his last breath,” Kohen’s mother, Vellesiya Wiley, said at a news conference Monday.
The shooting has ignited anger throughout the small city of Senatobia, where residents say it reflects a troubling pattern of encounters between police and Black community members. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation has taken over the inquiry into the child’s death.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump appeared alongside Kohen’s parents and grandparents at a local church Monday, telling reporters that releasing body camera footage, dash camera recordings, and Walmart security video is the only way to establish the truth about whether officers faced any real danger.
“If that is the truth, then show us that,” Crump said. “The longer you delay releasing the video, the more distrustful we become.”
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation declined to say what video evidence investigators have obtained or whether any of it would be made public. Agency spokesperson Bailey Martin said Monday in an emailed statement: “This case has been made a top priority, and we currently have multiple agents working tirelessly to ensure every aspect of the investigation is thoroughly examined.”
Senatobia Police Chief Harold Vanderford did not respond to a phone message left seeking comment Monday.
State investigators released an initial account of the shooting last week, saying officers arrived at the Walmart to find two women and a child getting into a car and leaving. According to the bureau’s statement, “Officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver drove in the direction of the officers, almost striking one. An officer then discharged their weapon and the vehicle fled the scene.”
Kohen’s mother has said the shoplifting call stemmed from a box of diapers that her friend had been carrying — and that she believes her friend had actually paid for them. State investigators declined to address those details.
Crump challenged why officers did not simply let the car leave and record the license plate number instead of escalating the situation.
“They were called over a box of diapers and a family now has to bury their baby,” Crump said. “You cannot put those two things next to each other and call it reasonable policing.”
Crump also announced that the family intends to have an independent autopsy conducted. He noted that while it is not disputed that Kohen was struck by a police bullet, details about the trajectory of the shot could help determine whether the officer fired from directly in front of the vehicle or from the side — which would be key in assessing whether that officer was genuinely in harm’s way.
Policing expert Ian Adams, who teaches criminal justice at the University of South Carolina, told the Associated Press last week that officers need to understand that “shooting into a moving vehicle is a very bad idea and one to be avoided at almost all costs,” pointing to the serious risk posed to passengers and bystanders.
