A Mississippi family is calling for the release of video footage after the tragic death of their 1-year-old child, killed when police opened fire on a moving vehicle. The incident has stirred significant anger in Senatobia, with many concerned about the ongoing tensions between police and Black residents.
The incident occurred on June 14 at a Walmart parking lot. Police were responding to a shoplifting call when they fired at a car carrying Kohen Wiley, his mother, and another woman. The family states they were driving away from the scene, while police claim the car was headed toward them.
Vellesiya Wiley, Kohen’s mother, spoke at a news conference, expressing her grief, “I watched my baby take his first breath, and I watched my baby take his last breath.”
The other woman in the car, yet to be named, sustained severe injuries. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump joined Kohen’s family at a local church, urging for the release of any available video evidence, including body camera, dash camera, and Walmart security footage.
“If that is the truth, then show us that,” Crump stated. “The longer you delay releasing the video, the more distrustful we become.”
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, leading the inquiry, has not commented on the existence or release of any videos. Agency spokesperson Bailey Martin affirmed, “This case has been made a top priority,” highlighting the thorough efforts underway.
The agency reports the officers were unharmed. Senatobia Police Chief Harold Vanderford hasn’t responded to inquiries. Initial details from state investigators describe officers attempting to halt the vehicle, which reportedly moved toward them before one officer fired their weapon. The vehicle then fled.
Kohen’s mother mentioned the alleged shoplifting involved a box of diapers, asserting her friend, the driver, had paid for them. State investigators have not clarified these details.
Crump criticized the police response, arguing, “You cannot put those two things next to each other and call it reasonable policing,” especially when the aftermath requires a family to bury their child over a box of diapers.
An independent autopsy is planned to investigate further, focusing on the angles of the gunshots to ascertain whether the officer was in a position of danger.
Ian Adams, a policing expert at the University of South Carolina, shared with The Associated Press that, “shooting into a moving vehicle is a very bad idea and one to be avoided at almost all costs,” emphasizing the risks posed to passengers and bystanders.