Mississippi AG says police shooting that killed 1-year-old was ‘justified’

A finding of justified use of force means the reviewing authority concluded the officer’s decision to shoot met the applicable legal standard. In general, that standard asks whether the officer reasonably faced a serious threat when deadly force was used. The phrase describes the legal conclusion, not a finding that every account of the event is undisputed.

Here, Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s office said the officer’s use of force was justified. Police reported that a vehicle drove toward officers and almost struck one of them. Kohen Wiley’s family disputes that account. His mother said the driver was moving left, away from officers, while she tried to show them the baby.

The finding matters because it is the state’s current conclusion about potential criminal wrongdoing by the officer. It does not provide the public with the body-camera footage, which the family’s attorney is demanding. The article does not state whether civil claims or other proceedings will follow.

The vehicle carried three people. They were Kohen Wiley, his mother Vellesiya Wiley, and Vellesiya’s friend, who was driving. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation described them as two subjects and a juvenile child fleeing from Walmart, while the family identified the mother and driver in their account.

After the officer fired, the vehicle left the scene. The occupants went to a local hospital. Kohen, who was 1 year old, was pronounced dead. The MBI reported that another subject had critical injuries, and the article identifies that person as the driver. It does not report an injury or medical outcome for Vellesiya Wiley.

The differing descriptions matter because the shooting’s legal justification depends on what threat officers reasonably perceived. Police said the vehicle nearly struck an officer. Wiley said the driver moved left, away from officers, while she tried to show that a baby was inside. The family also disputes the shooting’s direction and circumstances.

Police described the shooting as part of a response to a shoplifting call at Walmart in Senatobia. The MBI said officers saw two subjects and a juvenile child fleeing the store and entering a vehicle. Officers attempted to stop that vehicle as it left the parking lot.

According to the MBI, the driver then drove in the direction of officers and almost struck one of them. An officer discharged a weapon, and the vehicle fled. The occupants went to a local hospital, where Kohen Wiley was pronounced dead and another person was critically injured.

Kohen’s mother gave a different sequence. She said she and her baby entered the car after her friend was briefly stopped, then encountered officers while backing out. She said she raised Kohen to show he was inside. Her friend accidentally hit another car while the door was open, Wiley said, but did not drive toward officers. These conflicting accounts remain central to the dispute.

The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, or MBI, investigated the June 14 shooting. Four months later, Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s office announced that it had completed its review and concluded that the officer’s use of force was justified. The officer’s name is not provided.

The article establishes that the attorney general’s office reviewed the incident and announced the conclusion. It does not explain the office’s precise statutory authority, whether it can bring charges directly, or how its review differed from the MBI investigation. Those details should not be inferred from the statement alone.

In practical terms, the announcement represents the state attorney general’s office’s position on the officer’s conduct after reviewing the investigation. The family’s attorney challenged that conclusion and asked the Senatobia Police Department to release body-camera video. The article does not say whether the video was released or whether any criminal case against the officer was filed.

Each type of evidence answers a different question. Body-camera footage may show officers’ positions, commands, timing, and the vehicle’s movement. Witness accounts can describe what occupants and bystanders saw. Police reports preserve the officers’ initial account. Autopsy evidence can show the injury path and help establish where a bullet entered and what it struck.

In this case, the MBI said the vehicle drove toward officers and almost struck one. Vellesiya Wiley said the driver moved left, away from officers, while she raised her baby. She also said the vehicle accidentally hit another car while backing out. The family’s preliminary autopsy report allegedly showed the fatal bullet traveled through one side of the car.

Investigators compare these sources rather than relying on one alone. The article says the family wants body-camera video released. That footage could address the disputed positions and movements, but the article does not reveal what it contains or whether officials will release it.

A justified-force finding means the attorney general’s office concluded the officer’s conduct did not warrant criminal action under the standard it applied. But the article does not say whether charges were considered, filed, or formally barred. It also does not state that the finding controls a separate civil lawsuit, which can involve different claims and evidence.

The immediate effect described in the article is political and public: the state has announced its conclusion, while the family rejects it. Attorney Ben Crump questioned the investigation and said the family would not stop fighting until it received the truth. He specifically urged the police department to release body-camera footage.

The finding therefore closes the attorney general’s stated review, but not the public dispute. Protests have continued for months in Senatobia. The article does not say whether a lawsuit will be filed, whether video will be released, or whether another official review will occur.

The core legal principle is necessity and reasonableness. In general, an officer may use deadly force when the officer reasonably believes it is necessary to stop an imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm. The analysis considers what the officer perceived at the moment, not only what becomes clear later. The article does not state the exact Mississippi standard used.

Police said the driver moved toward officers and almost struck one, creating the danger they relied on. Vellesiya Wiley disputed that account. She said the driver moved left, away from officers, while she tried to show that Kohen was in the vehicle. The child’s presence also highlights the risk to bystanders and occupants when an officer fires at a moving car.

Investigators must therefore examine the vehicle’s direction, speed, distance, warnings, available alternatives, and the bullet’s consequences, along with video and witness evidence. The attorney general’s office found the force justified, but the article says the family continues to challenge that conclusion and seek the footage.