Black Residents Warned of Abusive Cops for Years. Then Police Shot and Killed a Toddler.
In the Mississippi town where Kohen Wiley died, community members had urged leaders to rein in the police. Are they listening now? The post Black Residents Warned of Abusive Cops for Years. Then Police Shot and Killed a Toddler. appeared first on The Intercept .
In Senatobia, Mississippi, a 1-year-old toddler named Kohen Wiley was fatally shot by police at a Walmart. The community is in anguish and rage over the incident, demanding answers from officials. Kohen's mother, Vel’lesiya Wiley, had warned the officers that her child was with her, but the police narrative insisted that the shooting was in pursuit of suspects fleeing the store.
A witness video and a local woman's testimony contradicted this account, but the police maintained their story. The killing has reignited the longstanding issue of police abuse towards Black residents in the predominantly Black town, which is about 40% Black. In 2025, the town finally dismissed its police chief after a series of violent incidents, including a previous incident where an officer forced a woman from her car in front of her children for parking in a handicapped spot.
The city had already hired the officer involved in Kohen's death, who had a history of misconduct. Just days before Kohen's death, a Black officer filed a complaint against the sergeant for making a racist remark. The hiring decision has been seen as emblematic of the town's disregard for its Black community. On the day Kohen was buried, the Walmart was mostly quiet, with a police car parked nearby.
A white woman defended the peaceful protests, stating that no one really knew what had happened and no mother should have to bury her child.
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