Three months after the fatal police shooting of 1-year-old Kohen Wiley, state investigators have turned over their findings to the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office.
Senatobia Interim Police Chief Angelica Maze announced on Sept. 17 that the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation handed the case to state prosecutors to determine what, if anything, comes next.
“We understand this situation has caused concern and sadness throughout the community, and we appreciate your continued patience and understanding as the investigation proceeds,” Maze said in a press release.
On June 14, Senatobia police arrived at the town’s Walmart to address a complaint of alleged shoplifting. Vellesiya Wiley, Kohen’s mother, said she was traveling with her child and a family friend and leaving the store when they were confronted by law enforcement.
The Mississippi Department of Public Safety issued a statement claiming that police officers saw two people and an infant child fleeing the store and getting into a vehicle, and that while attempting to stop the vehicle, the driver drove in the direction of the officers, almost striking one.
Vellesyia Wiley said she was in the passenger’s seat of her friend’s vehicle and held up Kohen to show an infant was in the car. An unidentified officer opened fire, killing Kohen and wounding the driver. Vellesyia has denied any accusations of shoplifting as well as allegations the vehicle was aiming at any officers.
Kohen Wiley’s family retained civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who said an independent autopsy found that the bullet that killed Kohen entered from the right side of his chest and exited from the left side, arguing this is evidence that Kohen was shot from the side, not head-on.
Senatobia residents have said Kohen Wiley’s death is an example of existing tensions between the town’s police force and its residents.
Though public records have identified one of the officers present at the scene of the shooting, the officer responsible for the shooting itself has not been disclosed. In addition to putting an officer on leave, Senatobia aldermen fired its former police chief, Harold Vanderford, after reports that he used racial slurs in private text conversations with colleagues. Kohen Wiley was Black, as is around 40% of the small town’s population.
Crump praised Senatobia’s decision to fire Vanderford, and Senatobia Alderman Chris McConnell called for an independent investigation of the town’s police department.
Follow the Mississippi Free Press’ coverage of Kohen Wiley and read past stories here.
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