Mississippi Attorney General Clears Officer in Fatal Shooting of 1-Year-Old

WASHINGTON, Oct 22 (OPA) — Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch confirmed this week that the state will not pursue criminal charges against the Senatobia police officer involved in the June 14 shooting death of 1-year-old Kohen Wiley. The decision follows a review by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, which concluded the use of force was legally justified. The incident occurred after officers responded to reports of shoplifting at a local Walmart.

Footage of the encounter, recently circulated by Darkhorse Press, shows five officers surrounding a silver sedan as it attempts to leave the parking lot. The video depicts the vehicle moving forward, nearly striking an officer, before gunfire erupts. Wiley, who was being held by his mother in the passenger seat, was struck by gunfire and later pronounced dead at a local hospital. The driver, a friend of the mother, was not charged with any crime.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, representing the Wiley family, has challenged the state’s findings and criticized the lack of transparency regarding the release of official body camera footage. Crump maintains that the mother held the child up to signal the presence of an infant in the vehicle before the shooting occurred. The family has consistently rejected allegations that they were involved in shoplifting.

State officials stated that the Mississippi Department of Public Safety plans to release the official body camera footage later this week, following a private viewing by the family. The shooting remains a point of contention in Senatobia, occurring amid broader scrutiny of the police department, including the recent firing of the city's police chief over allegations of racial misconduct. Mayor Greg Graves stated the city remains committed to transparency as the legal fallout continues.