Protesters gathered Friday morning in front of the Senatobia Walmart, where the shooting occurred, with chants of “Justice for him! Kohen Wiley” and “If we don’t get it, shut it down.” The Walmart itself was closed, its doors barricaded. During a previous protest earlier in the week, officers deployed tear gas to disperse the crowd.
The June 14 shooting unfolded after a Senatobia police officer responded to a call alleging the theft of diapers. According to a statement from the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, officers “encountered two subjects and a juvenile child fleeing from the store into a vehicle” and that “the driver drove in the direction of the officers, almost striking one.” The officer fired into the passenger side of the vehicle, killing Kohen Kartier Wiley, a one-year-old boy who was sitting on his mother’s lap, and injuring the woman driving.
Vellesiya Wiley, Kohen’s mother, said that the driver paid for the diapers at the store’s self-checkout. No shoplifting charges have been filed. During a press conference on Monday, Wiley said, “I watched my baby take his first breath, and I watched my baby take his last breath.”
The family and witnesses have disputed the police account of the incident. They have also expressed anger at the department’s initial description of Kohen, an infant, as a “juvenile.” The DPS has said that body-camera and security-camera footage would not be released while the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation conducts its inquiry.
A public records request identified Sgt. Hunter Foster of the Senatobia police department as one of the officers present at the shooting.
Friday’s march began from the Walmart parking lot, led by three vehicles. Protesters walked down the street, calling out “Say his name: Kohen Wiley!” Shortly after starting, a sheriff’s deputy intercepted the crowd on U.S. Highway 51, telling some leaders they were not permitted to stop traffic. Protesters continued, slowing but not halting traffic.
Marchers initially planned to go to the Senatobia police station to hold a press conference. But law enforcement vehicles shadowed the group and appeared to block their route. The protesters changed direction repeatedly, weaving through side streets. When they approached the station from one direction, they found a barricade. Construction workers were seen placing additional barricades to block access from another direction.
“We got businesses locking their doors like we’re trying to harm them,” said Tyesha Cox, a family friend who was among the marchers. “They just need to listen to the community and let us get justice. If they feel the police did right, then why they haven’t released any footage?”
The march looped through town, past the main street area, near the interstate, and back to the Walmart. Temperatures approached 90 degrees Fahrenheit with little shade. As protesters passed fast-food restaurants, some employees stepped outside to watch, and in several cases cheered.
Following the march, family members and community supporters attended a viewing of Kohen’s body. Later Friday evening, organizers scheduled a town hall featuring Fred Hampton Jr. of the Black Panther Party Cubs, Marquell Bridges, a Mississippi organizer who helped lead the protest, and Baba Akili of Black Lives Matter Grassroots Rapid Response. Kohen’s funeral was planned for Saturday afternoon.