Mississippi AG Clears Officer in Shooting Death of 1-Year-Old; Family Says They Were Never Interviewed
State authorities concluded a police officer's use of force was justified in the killing of Kohen Wiley, a Black toddler shot in June, but the family reported they were not contacted before the decision and the child's mother was not interviewed despite the investigation being marked complete.
What happened
On June 14, Senatobia Police Sgt. Hunter Foster shot and killed 1-year-old Kohen Wiley, who was in a car outside a Walmart. Police said officers responded to a shoplifting report and that the car drove toward them; the mother, Vel'lesiya Wiley, said she raised her baby to warn officers he was in the vehicle before being shot. A second passenger, Latoya Ferrell, was also struck but survived. On Monday, Mississippi AG Lynn Fitch announced the investigation found the use of force was justified. The child's grandmother, Veronica Roberson, learned of the decision on Facebook and stated the family had received no prior communication from state authorities. The Mississippi Department of Public Safety acknowledged that as of mid-September, Kohen's mother had not been interviewed despite the investigation being marked complete.
Context
The case has drawn national attention and sustained local activism, with months of protests calling for accountability. The decision carries significance because it closes the state investigation without pursuing charges against the officer and because the investigation's completeness is contested—the child's mother, an eyewitness holding him at the time, was apparently not interviewed. The killing has amplified longstanding concerns in Senatobia about police conduct toward Black residents, including the jailing of a 10-year-old for public urination and violent arrests of teenagers. The police account—that the car drove toward officers—has not been publicly supported by released evidence, though a pathologist hired by civil rights attorney Ben Crump concluded based on injury analysis that the officer fired from the side of the car, contradicting that version. The investigation's conclusions thus rest on a contested narrative, and the family's exclusion from the process raises questions about the thoroughness authorities have claimed.
What's disputed
The exact circumstances of the shooting remain contested. Police claim the car drove toward officers and nearly hit them; the mother's account and a pathologist's external examination of the child suggest the officer fired from the side of the car. No video evidence has been released to support either account. The scope of the investigation itself is disputed: authorities say it is "thorough and impartial," but the apparent non-interview of the child's mother—the eyewitness holding him—contradicts that characterization.