Mississippi AG rules officer justified in shooting that killed 1-year-old Kohen Wiley

Mississippi's attorney general declared a police shooting that killed 1-year-old Kohen Wiley during a shoplifting call "justified." The boy's family disputes the official account.

Mississippi AG declares fatal police shooting of toddler 'justified'

The Mississippi Attorney General's office has ruled that a police officer who shot and killed a 1-year-old boy during a shoplifting response acted within justified use of force, nbcnews.com reports.

Attorney General Lynn Fitch's office issued the finding on Monday, four months after Kohen Wiley was killed on 14 June outside a Walmart in Senatobia — a small town approximately 40 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee.

"The Attorney General's Office found the use of force was justified," the office stated, adding that the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation had conducted the review.

What police say happened

According to the MBI's June report, officers arrived at the Walmart and observed two adults and a child fleeing the store into a vehicle. "Officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver drove in the direction of the officers, almost striking one," the MBI said. An officer then discharged their weapon. The vehicle left the scene and arrived at a local hospital, where Kohen was pronounced dead. A second occupant sustained critical injuries.

The mother's account

Kohen's mother, identified by her lawyer as Vellesiya Wiley, was a passenger in the vehicle. In a video posted to social media in June by attorney Ben Crump, she said the group had gone to Walmart to buy diapers. She said her friend was briefly stopped while leaving the store but that the incident had nothing to do with her.

"By the time me and my baby got in the car, she came," Wiley said of her friend.

As they began to reverse, they encountered officers. Wiley said she raised her baby to show police a child was present. In that moment, her friend inadvertently struck another car while Wiley's door was still open. Wiley insisted her friend did not try to hit the officers. "They was all on the right side, and she was driving towards the left," she said.

Autopsy and legal pressure

In July, family attorneys Crump and Van Turner released a preliminary autopsy report which they contend shows the fatal bullet passed through one side of the car — findings they say raise further questions about whether the shooting was warranted.

"His mother, who has not been charged with any crime, says she was trying to communicate to officers that there was a baby in the car," Crump said.

Wiley's family has taken part in months of protests in Senatobia demanding justice for the boy. There was no immediate response from the family following Monday's announcement by the AG's office.

Source: Google News MT — Crime (en)