Senatobia police on Friday released a two-page incident report about the June shooting that killed 1-year-old Kohen Wiley, but the document contains few details about how the encounter unfolded, Mississippi Today reported.
The report, obtained by Mississippi Today through a public records request, says officers responded to a Walmart shortly after 1:30 p.m. on a call about alleged shoplifting of baby clothes and a large pack of Pampers Easy Ups. Department call logs show officers were alerted that shots were fired at 2:04 p.m., and the vehicle was impounded shortly before 4:30 p.m., the report says.
The report does not name the officers involved, say how many officers were present or explain why the call escalated to gunfire, Mississippi Today said. Vellesiya Wiley, Kohen’s 20-year-old mother, told media that her son 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 a 22-year-old friend in the arm and thigh. The police report makes no mention of that account, according to Mississippi Today.
The Tate County Sheriff’s Office said an unnamed officer fired at an “oncoming vehicle,” the sheriff’s office statement said. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents the family, shared a July 2 photo he said shows the car’s front passenger window shot out and a bullet hole through the passenger side of the windshield, which he said indicates officers fired while beside the vehicle. Crump and the family’s attorneys have called for release of body and dashboard camera footage and announced plans for an independent autopsy on June 22.
Walmart said in a statement that company policy allows it to share surveillance footage only with law enforcement while an incident is under investigation, Hannah Henderson, a Walmart representative, said. The Senatobia Police Department acknowledged in a Facebook post about three hours after the shooting that a shoplifting call “led to officers discharging their firearms” and pledged “full transparency,” the post said. Lt. Shane Howell said Sgt. Hunter Foster was placed on administrative leave two days after the incident, and authorities have not said whether Foster or any other officers fired their weapons. Call logs provided to Mississippi Today show Senatobia police have averaged more than one response per day to that Walmart over the past three years, and a department roster lists 11 patrol officers.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
