Mississippi Attorney General Clears Officer in Toddler Shooting

Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch ruled Monday that a Senatobia police officer was justified in firing at a vehicle during a shoplifting investigation, killing 1-year-old Kohen Wiley and critically injuring the driver. The June 14 shooting has drawn protests and renewed demands from the child's family for the release of body-camera footage and other evidence.

According to the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, officers responded to a Walmart parking lot after receiving a report that baby supplies, including diapers and clothing, had allegedly been stolen. Kohen's mother, Vellesiya Wiley, and her friend Latoya Ferrell were leaving the store with the child when officers attempted to stop their vehicle.

Investigators said the vehicle moved toward officers and nearly struck one of them, prompting an officer to open fire. Kohen was fatally shot, while Ferrell, who was driving, sustained critical injuries. Neither woman has been charged with shoplifting or another crime, according to court records cited by CNN and The Guardian.

Fitch announced the state's conclusion in a brief statement, writing that the use of force was justified. The decision came approximately four months after the shooting.

Benjamin Crump, the civil rights attorney representing Kohen's family, challenged the ruling and called for authorities to make the recordings public.

"How can anyone accept that conclusion when Kohen's family and the public still have not been allowed to see the body-camera footage?" Crump said.

Crump also called for transparency in the investigation, arguing that releasing the recordings would allow the public to assess the state's findings. Authorities have not released footage from officers' body cameras or surveillance cameras covering the parking lot.

"If the footage supports the state's decision, release it. We will not stop fighting until this family gets the truth," Crump said.

The family's challenge also centers on evidence concerning the vehicle's direction when the officer fired. According to CNN and The Guardian, Crump released findings from an independent autopsy indicating that Kohen was shot from the side of the vehicle, a detail that conflicts with the account that the car was moving directly toward officers.

Vellesiya Wiley has denied that she or Ferrell stole anything. She also disputed the account of the vehicle's movement and said she raised her son to show officers that a child was inside the car before the shooting.

Martin Zummach, the attorney representing the officer who fired, defended his client's actions following the attorney general's decision.

"He had no choice but to fire his weapon," Zummach said, describing the driver's actions as an attempt to kill his client.

Authorities have identified the officer in records cited by The Guardian as Sgt. Hunter Foster. Foster is white, while Kohen, his mother and Ferrell are Black. The shooting has intensified concerns about policing and racial tensions in Senatobia, a city near Memphis, Tennessee.

John P. Gross, an expert on police use of force involving moving vehicles, questioned the decision to shoot. He told The Associated Press that officers should generally move out of the path of an approaching vehicle rather than fire at it.

"This shooting was almost certainly unjustified," Gross said.

Charles "Joe" Key, a firearms and ballistics expert and former Baltimore police lieutenant, also examined the available evidence. He said the vehicle's apparent damage suggested the officer may have fired from the side, raising questions about whether officers faced an immediate threat.

"The only way it would have been justified is if officers had been in the path of a car driving directly at them," Key said.

Key added that the recordings could help establish the circumstances surrounding the shooting. No public release date for the footage has been announced.

The case has unfolded amid broader scrutiny of the Senatobia Police Department. In September, the city dismissed Police Chief Harold Vanderford after reports revealed private text messages containing racial slurs. The department has also faced criticism over earlier incidents involving Black residents, including the arrest of a 10-year-old Black boy for urinating in public in 2023.

The June shooting occurred on Juneteenth, the federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. Protests followed in Senatobia, where residents and civil rights advocates have questioned the investigation and demanded greater transparency.