Outrage Erupts Across Mississippi After Police Officer Fa-tally Sh00ts 1-Year-Old Boy During Walmart Incident
SENATOBIA, Miss. — The Senatobia, Mississippi, officer involved in the deadly shooting of one-year-old Kohen Wiley has been placed on administrative leave, the city of Senatobia said.
The action was taken by the mayor and Board of Aldermen at the meeting on Tuesday night. That officer has not been identified by city officials.
This comes after Tate County, Mississippi, deputies deployed tear gas at protesters outside a Walmart in Senatobia after they left a rally at city hall on Tuesday afternoon for Wiley.
Law enforcement agencies stayed at the Walmart for hours after the deployment of tear gas.
Tuesday afternoon, National Civil Rights Attorney Ben Crump announced that he and Attorney Van Turner will be representing the family of Wiley.
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation says this all started with a shoplifting call at a Walmart on Sunday.
According to MBI, when officers saw two women and a child leave the store and jump into a car, they attempted to stop the car; however, the driver allegedly drove into an officer’s direction, nearly hitting them.
MBI says at least one officer fired a shot, but the car continued to take off.
It was later determined that one-year-old Kohen Wiley, who was inside the car, was shot and rushed to the hospital, where he unfortunately died from his injuries.
Kohen Wiley Courtesy of Family
Dozens of community members gathered outside City Hall, calling for the officer’s arrest and termination.
“It was just a blatant shooting. A reckless, careless, maybe even coward less act. So how do you explain that? You can’t even explain that to a supervisor and to a commander,” said Aretha Lester, a protester.
“Being Black is the weapon. They try to demonize us. No matter if you’re one-year-old or 60-years-old. If you’re Black, you’re already the bottom tier to them,” said Chekymbria Allen, another protester
In a presser held at the Tate County Sheriff’s Office Tuesday afternoon, Sean Tindell, Commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, highlighted the status of the investigation.
In 2022, a law was passed that requires MBI to investigate officer-involved shootings, Tindell said.
Once evidence and statements are gathered by five agents working the case, it will be handed over to the D.A.’s office, he said.
Tindell said that when the investigation is complete, body-cam and dash-cam footage will be available to the public upon request.
“The purpose for that is because we believe that transparency creates accountability. And with accountability, we can maintain public trust. Those policies and procedures will be followed in this case as well,” said Sean Tindell, Commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety.
Tindell asked the public to remain patient as the investigation is conducted and to maintain civility so that witnesses are not intimidated into giving statements.
“Over the last several years, MBI has done numerous investigations in all those cases; all the ultimate findings were made available to the public. I want you to be assured that it will be a thorough investigation, and it will be one where transparency is there,” said Tindell.
There are still a lot of unanswered questions regarding the circumstances that led up to this deadly officer-involved shooting, as calls continue for transparency and accountability.
