Inquiry Launched After Police Shooting Claims Life of Toddler in Mississippi

Calls for accountability are intensifying following the fatal shooting of one-year-old Kohen Wiley by police officers responding to a shoplifting incident at a Walmart in Senatobia, Mississippi.

According to reports, officers discharged their weapons into a vehicle linked to the shoplifting call. The officer involved claimed the car was moving toward him when he fired. Kohen's family is now pursuing an independent autopsy to investigate the circumstances surrounding his death.

Attorney Benjamin Crump, representing the family, expressed outrage over the police response, stating, "They were called over a box of diapers, and a family now has to bury their baby. You cannot put those two things next to each other and call it reasonable policing!"

Kohen's mother, Vellesiya Wiley, was present in the vehicle during the incident. She asserts that the car was stationary and that she had raised her child to signal to officers that a baby was inside just before the gunfire erupted. With deep sorrow, she recalled, "I watched my baby take his first breaths, and watched my baby take his last breath."

The officer involved in the shooting has been placed on administrative leave while the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation (MBI) conducts its inquiry. The MBI has committed to transparency throughout the investigation, which includes reviewing security footage and police body camera recordings. They have indicated that the footage will be made public once the investigation concludes.

Civil rights attorney Van Turner has called for the immediate release of the body camera footage, arguing, "We don't have to wait six to nine months; they can release the body cam footage of the officers. The officers had body cams on. We know if their lives were in danger because we can tell from the body cam footage."

The driver of the vehicle sustained critical injuries during the confrontation but is not facing any charges related to shoplifting. Vellesiya Wiley has not been accused of any wrongdoing following the tragic event.

Reported by HarborBeat based on WMAR-2 News (source).