By Sophie Bates
Contributing Writer
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The parents of a 1-year-old boy who was shot and killed by a police officer in Mississippi led a protest this week at the office of the state’s attorney general, who ruled last month that the shooting was justified.
Cries of “our baby’s life mattered” echoed through the office’s lobby as Kohen Wiley’s parents and a small group of activists demanded to speak to Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch.
Marquell Bridges, an activist who has been working with Kohen’s parents, said they wanted Fitch to look Kohen’s parents in the eyes and tell them why the shooting was justified.
“These people work for us,” Bridges said. “We pay their salaries. We vote. We put them in office, and our people have to understand that we have the power.”
They were met in the lobby by Fitch’s chief of staff, who said Fitch was not in the office. An email seeking comment was sent to the attorney general’s office this week.
Kohen Wiley was killed in June when a police officer in the small town of Senatobia, about 40 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee, fired his gun into a moving vehicle while responding to a shoplifting call.
Body-worn cameras show Kohen’s mother, Vellesiya Wiley, holding Kohen as she and a friend run across the parking lot of a Senatobia Walmart and enter their vehicle. Wiley and the friend, who was driving, are Black.
Five officers approach the parked car with guns drawn. The car reversed and crashed into a parked vehicle nearby as officers yelled for it to stop.
The vehicle then accelerated forward as Senatobia Sgt. Hunter Foster stepped toward it, directly in front, with his gun drawn. The wheels turned away from him, and he appeared to put his hands on the hood as he jumped out of the way. He fired his gun, shattering the window of the front passenger side, where Kohen was seated on his mother’s lap.
Kohen was killed after being struck in the torso and the driver of the vehicle, Latoya Ferrell, suffered critical injuries. Ferrell’s sister told media outlets that Ferrell’s recovery has been “touch and go,” that she still had a “bullet inside her” and that she faced further surgeries.
Foster resigned the force after footage of the shooting was released.
Kohen would have turned 2 Nov. 1.
The shooting sparked months of mourning and calls for justice, both nationally and in Senatobia.
Sitting outside the attorney general’s office, Kohen’s father, Davion Williams, said the passing of Kohen’s birthday was “the worst feeling ever.”
“It’s hard. It’s just hard to even express and talk about,” Williams said. “Now we have to keep his name alive.”
Williams said he wants Foster prosecuted and Fitch out of office. He wore a t-shirt with Kohen’s face that read “Kohen should be 2. Vote in his honor.”
Foster’s attorney, Martin Zummach, has said his client had “no choice” but to shoot at the vehicle because it was going to hit him. The Mississippi Attorney General’s office said its investigation found that Foster’s use of force was appropriate.
The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, meanwhile, was investigating a recent arson fire that damaged the Senatobia police building. It was unclear what caused the fire. An email to the ATF was not immediately returned.
The State Fire Marshal’s Office is assisting in the investigation, a spokesperson said, adding a reward is being offered of up to $5,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction.
Sophie Bates writes for the Associated Press. Wave staff contributed to this report.
