Footage released of Mississippi police shooting of one-year-old Kohen Wiley
After Mississippi's attorney general said the police shooting of one-year-old Kohen Wiley was justified, video of the incident has become public. The family's lawyers are calling for a federal investigation.
Video of the police shooting of one-year-old Kohen Wiley in Mississippi, US, has been made public. On Monday, state attorney general Lynn Fitch had announced that the shooting was justified. The footage was first reported by Darkhorse Press, a Mississippi news outlet. On Thursday, the family's representatives spoke at a press conference in Senatobia, calling for a federal investigation.
The press conference
The family's attorneys, Ben Crump and Van Turner, held the event at the Senatobia Church of Christ shortly after relatives had been able to view the footage. Both of the boy's grandmothers, his father and representatives of two local civil rights groups, the Senatobia Committee for Accountability and the Building Bridges Coalition, were present. Crump said investigators would officially release the footage later that afternoon.
Veronica Roberson, the boy's maternal grandmother, fought back tears as she said the word "justified" had haunted her since Monday. She said she learned of the decision through news sources because nobody had contacted the family. She called the leaked videos from several outlets "slaps in the face".
Roberson said the footage shows five officers with guns drawn approaching a car holding Vellesiya Wiley, the baby's mother, her friend Latoya Ferrell, and Kohen. Crump described the police response as "excessive from the very start".
The shoplifting allegation
Initial reports said officers were responding to a shoplifting call. The two women allegedly took a pack of diapers. Crump stressed that neither woman was ever arrested, and noted that shoplifting is a misdemeanor that does not warrant the death penalty.
Lasandra Williams, Kohen's paternal grandmother, said she was having a hard time understanding the word "justified" after what she had seen. Next Sunday, 1 November, would have been Kohen's second birthday.
