The use of force was justified in a June 14 incident during which a Senatobia police officer shot and killed 1-year-old Kohen Wiley while responding to a shoplifting call, the Mississippi Attorney General announced Oct. 19.
"Today, the Office of the Attorney General announced it has completed the review of a June 14, 2026 incident in Senatobia involving one officer with the Senatobia Police Department," the AG's statement read. "In this incident, the Attorney General’s Office found the use of force was justified. Pursuant to Section 45-1-6 of the Mississippi Code, the review followed an investigation by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation."
The shooting spurred several days of protests in Senatobia.
Wiley's family retained civil rights attorney
Ben Crump after the shooting. During a July 1 press conference, Crump read from an independent autopsy that determined the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the torso.
Crump has disputed that the driver of the car drove toward police, as the bullet entered Wiley's body from the right side and not from the front. During the July 1 press conference, Crump also displayed a photograph of the vehicle with a shattered passenger side window, in addition to a bullet hole in the front windshield.
The officer who shot Wiley was placed on leave, the city of Senatobia announced June 16. It was not immediately clear as of Oct. 19 what the status of that officer's employment was.
The Mississippi AG's office did not immediately respond to a request for more information about its review and whether a full report was available
What happened to Kohen Wiley?
Law enforcement officers with the Senatobia Police Department and the Tate County Sheriff's Office responded to a shoplifting call at Walmart on U.S. 51 on June 14, according to the Mississippi Department of Public Safety. Upon arrival, they alleged, officers saw two people and a child fleeing from the store into a vehicle.
One officer shot into the car, and the car fled the scene. According to MPDS, the subjects arrived at a local hospital where the child was pronounced dead, and another subject had critical injuries.
Jack Armstrong covers breaking news and the environment for The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at jack.armstrong@commercialappeal.com and followed on X @jca2902.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Force justified in shooting death of Mississippi baby, state AG finds
