I venture off from my usual blog trajectory to post a story that deserves to be told and retold. I would be remiss if I did not share this story and the tragedy that it entails. In America, we say that the penalty must match the crime. I am not against prosecuting thieves and other criminals, but the punishment should match the crime. In the crime described above, the perps had no weapons. The only thing they were holding was a one year old child named Kohen Wiley.
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The police shooting that killed 1-year-old Kohen Wiley as he sat in his mother’s lap in a Walmart parking lot in Senatobia, Miss., in June “was justified,” Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s office announced on Monday.
One year old toddler Kohen Wiley was killed in his mothers arms over a pack of stolen diapers that cost between 20 and 30 dollars.
Yesterday, the Mississippi department of public safety released body-camera and surveillance footage from the shooting, at a Walmart in Senatobia, during which the toddler died in his mother’s arms after being shot.
“Today, the Office of the Attorney General announced it has completed the review of a June 14, 2026 incident in Senatobia involving one officer with the Senatobia Police Department,” the attorney general’s statement said. “In this incident, the Attorney General’s Office found the use of force was justified. Pursuant to Section 45-1-6 of the Mississippi Code, the review followed an investigation by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation.” Fitch is a 2027 Republican candidate for governor.
Officers were responding to a shoplifting call alleging that Wiley’s mother, Vellesiya Wiley, and Latoya Ferrell had stolen a pack of diapers. The women exited the store with the child as officers arrived, entered their vehicle and began to leave the parking lot. Officers drew their weapons, and Vellesiya Wiley lifted her son up to show the officers that a child was in the car. One officer fired into the vehicle, killing the baby as she held him. A bullet also wounded Ferrell.
I reviewed the footage. I do not buy the claim that the officers were in fear for their lives or that the suspects were trying to run them down.
I do think that the concept of “excessive force” here would be a great understatement.
The thought that the “use of force was justified” deserves criminal prosecution if not for racism or cruelty but certainly for stupidity.
The moral of this story is clear:
If you are Black, poor and need diapers, you will be shot if you attempt to shoplift them.
Meanwhile billionaires rob Americans blind.
Did Kohen deserve to die over a package of diapers?
