Mississippi Rules Officer’s Use of Force Justified in Toddler’s Death

Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s office said October 19 that an officer’s use of force in the June 14 shooting that killed 1-year-old Kohen Wiley in Senatobia was justified. The decision followed a review of findings from the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and means the officer will not face criminal charges in connection with the shooting, according to reports of the announcement. The shooting happened in a Walmart parking lot after Senatobia police responded to a report of shoplifting. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation’s initial account said a vehicle carrying Wiley, his mother, Vellesiya Wiley, and another woman moved toward officers, nearly striking one. An officer then fired into the vehicle, killing Kohen and wounding the driver, according to that account. Vellesiya Wiley has disputed that description, saying the driver was not heading toward officers. She has also said she held her son up to show police there was a child in the vehicle. Neither she nor the other woman has been charged with theft, according to reports. The attorney general’s announcement did not identify the officer who fired or explain the evidence behind the finding. The office said...