You would think that an officer shooting and killing a one-year-old would have the Senatobia Police Department working to compile the most accurate information possible about the shooting and everything that led up to it. Sadly, but unsurprisingly, that’s not the case. The Senatobia Police Department has released an internal report about the shooting that killed Kohen Wiley, and it has virtually no information about what happened.
Mississippi Today reports that the two-page report doesn’t describe how many officers were present, what their names were, or what led up to the shooting on June 14 at Walmart in Senatobia, Mississippi. This is unusual because the officer’s incident reports typically have all that information along with the officer’s description of what happened leading up to the incident.
The only meaningful information in the report is that the Senatobia police responded to a call from a Walmart around 1:30 p.m. regarding children’s clothes and diapers that may have been shoplifted. It adds that at 2:04 pm, Senatobia police were alerted that shots were fired, and that the vehicle that was fired at was impounded at 4:30 p.m.
There is literally nothing mentioning that a Senatobia police officer shot and killed a 1-year-old child. Making matters worse is that the information that has been provided by the Senatobia police seems to contradict the physical evidence of what happened. Kohen Wiley’s autopsy revealed he was shot from the side of the car, not the front.
From Mississippi Today:
Vellesiya Wiley, Kohen’s 20-year-old mother, said later that her child was seated on her lap in the front passenger seat when officers fired three or four shots at their Ford Fusion, striking the toddler in the chest, and Wiley’s 22-year-old friend in her arm and thigh. The police report makes no mention of that, stating only that the vehicle was impounded shortly before 4:30 p.m. It also doesn’t say if there were any witnesses to the shooting.
In its own statement, the Tate County Sheriff’s Office, which was also on the scene, said without referring to any agency that an unnamed officer fired at an “oncoming vehicle.”
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the family, shared a photo July 2 showing the car’s front passenger window was shot out. Crump said it was evidence that police fired at the vehicle when they were beside the car and not in harm’s way. The photo also appears to show a bullet hole through the windshield, on the passenger side.
After the shooting, the Senatobia Police Department issued a statement on Facebook pledging “full transparency,” but their actions in the weeks following the shooting have been far from transparent. Despite several requests from community activists, the police department and the state’s public safety department have refused to release footage of the shooting.
The only meaningful information released by the department is that Sgt. Hunter Foster was placed on administrative leave two days after the shooting. Even that wasn’t much, as the department still hasn’t officially said whether Foster or any other officers fired their weapons.
It’s hard not to feel like the Senatobia Police Department is trying to cover up the shooting and protect the police officer who, I repeat, shot and killed a 1-year-old boy. A baby was killed over some diapers, and the Senatobia Police Department appears more concerned about covering their own ass than making sure those responsible are held accountable.
SEE ALSO:
Mississippi Cop Fatally Shoots 1-Year-Old Black Boy During Reported Shoplifting Incident
Kohen Kartier Wiley: Mother Says No One Drove Toward Cop Who Killed Her Son
Kohen Wiley GoFundMe Hits Over $10K As Family For 1-Year-Old Demands Justice
Cops Deploy Tear Gas On Protesters After Cop Fatally Shoots Black Baby
Kohen Wiley GoFundMe Hits Over $10K As Family For 1-Year-Old Demands Justice
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