A police officer in Senatobia, Mississippi, fatally shot one-year-old Kohen Wiley during a June pursuit involving allegations of shoplifting. Use-of-force experts reviewing leaked video now claim the officer ignored safety protocols by stepping in front of a fleeing vehicle.
Six experts' critique of the Walmart shoplifting pursuit
The incident began as a routine call regarding the theft of baby clothes and diapers from a Walmart store. According to reporting by Mississippi Today and The New York Times, six policing and use-of-force experts—including a forensic reconstructionist—reviewed leaked video footage of the encounter. These experts concluded that the officers unnecessarily escalated the situation, leading to the death of Kohen Wiley.
The footage shows that as Latoya Ferrell, Vellesiya Wiley, and the infant Kohen Wiley entered a gray sedan, the police response shifed quickly from non-confrontational to aggressive. The experts noted that the officers surrounded the vehicle and one officer shone a light inside shortly before shots were fired into the car.
The Senatobia Police Department's 'first responsibility' violation
A central point of contention is the decision by Officer Foster to jump in front of the moving gray sedan to prevent it from leaving. This action diretly contradicts the Senatobia Police Department's own use-of-force policy, which explicitly states that an officer's "first responsibility" is to move out of the path of an oncoming vehicle. As Mississippi Today reported, this tactical error put the officer in harm's way and created a volatile environment that contributed to the fatal shooting.
Chuck Wexler, the executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, described the event as a tragedy that could have been avoided. wexler emphasized that standard law enforcement training dictates that officers should stand off to the side of a vehicle rather than attempting to block it with their own bodies, a protocol that was ignored in the Senatobia incident.
Chief Harold Vanderford's racist slurs and the firing
The shooting of Kohen Wiley, who was Black, by a white officer has sparked national outrage, exacerbated by revelations regarding the department's leadership. Mississippi Today discovered that Officer Foster had previously been accused by two colleagues of making racially offensive remarks—complaints that were ignored by then-Chief Harold Vanderford.
The situation worsened when it was revealed that Chief Harold Vanderford routinely used racist slurs in text messages with another department colleague. Following these revelations, Vanderford was fired,and Officer Foster resigned from the Senatobia Police Department late last Wednesday.
Whether officers knew Kohen Wiley was in the gray sedan
Despite the expert analysis, critical gaps in the narrative remain. It is currently unknown if the officers pursuing the gray sedan were aware that a one-year-old child was inside the vehicle, or what specific information they possessed regarding Latoya Ferrell and Vellesiya Wiley prior to the escalation.
While most experts condemned the tactics, David Mastagni, an attorney for law enforcement, argued that video footage does not fully capture the high-pressure experience of an officer in the moment. Mastagni cautioned that the "tranquility and hindsight" of reviewing a recording differ significantly from the real-time split-second decisions made during a pursuit.
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