Mississippi Family Buries 1-Year-Old Kohen Wiley Fatally Shot By a Police Officer
On Friday, one-year-old Kohen Wiley was laid to rest.
The heartbreaking service came just days after police fatally shot him outside a Walmart in Senatobia and left his family searching for answers.
More than 300 mourners packed the Hosanna Family Worship Center in Pope, Miss., many donning blue, to pay their respects and show support to his family, NBC News reports.
“There is nothing in that Walmart store that is more precious than a baby,” said Memphis-based civil rights attorney Van Turner, who is representing the family. The service came 13 days after the shooting, which happened on June 14, when officers responded to a report of shoplifting at the store about 40 miles from Memphis.
According to the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, officers arrived as two adults and a child were getting into a vehicle, and a shot was fired after the car moved toward an officer. Kohen’s mother, Vellesiya Wiley, has said the driver was trying to get away, not strike police.
Kohen’s death has drawn grief and anger in Senatobia, where community members have rallied for transparency as state investigators review the shooting. The officer who fired the shot has not been publicly identified and has been placed on leave. State officials have said body camera footage will be released later, once the investigation is complete.
“At this point, we’re still gathering evidence from Walmart and body cams and dash cam footage if they’re available,” said Mississippi Public Safety Commissioner Sean Tindell in a public statement.
At the funeral, family members remembered Kohen as a bright child who loved the cartoon Bluey and was deeply cherished by the people around him. His death has also intensified scrutiny of why police were called in the first place, with the family’s lawyers saying the original complaint involved diapers. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation continues to lead the case.
“He deserved to have a life full of love,” Turner continued. “He deserved to make his parents proud. He deserved more than to have his life taken on that day over some diapers.”
