Key facts
- A second autopsy of Kohen Wiley, a 1-year-old killed by police in Mississippi, indicates he was shot from the side of a car.
- The family's attorney, Ben Crump, stated this challenges the officers' account that the vehicle was moving toward them.
- The shooting occurred after police were called to a Walmart parking lot over suspected shoplifted diapers.
- The child's mother, who was in the passenger seat, said the driver was moving away from the officers.
- The family is demanding the release of police body camera, dashcam, and Walmart surveillance footage.
A second autopsy commissioned by the family of Kohen Wiley, a 1-year-old who died after police fired into a car in Senatobia, Mississippi, suggests the child was shot from the side, not the front, of the vehicle. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump presented this evidence on Wednesday, stating it contradicts the initial police account that the car was moving toward officers and that they were in danger.
Wiley's mother, who was in the passenger seat, asserts that the driver was moving away from the officers when the shooting occurred. The incident, which took place on June 14 after police were called to a Walmart parking lot regarding potential shoplifted diapers, has sparked outrage and protests in the community. Crump highlighted the family's demand for transparency and the release of police body camera, dashcam, and Walmart surveillance footage.
Authorities have stated that the vehicle nearly struck an officer before the weapon was discharged and the car fled the scene. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation confirmed it is handling the case, which remains an open investigation, and declined to comment. The family believes the child was killed after police were called about diapers, and Crump drew comparisons to other cases involving Black individuals who died following accusations of minor offenses.