Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s office has completed its review of the June 14 shooting in Senatobia and found the officer’s use of force justified, so no charges will be filed. Verified footage shows five officers approaching a sedan after being told a suspected shoplifter was leaving; the driver moves forward and nearly hits an officer before one officer fires. The child, Kohen Wiley, died. His family disputes the shoplifting accusation and says the mother tried to show officers that a child was in the car. The state says it will officially release the video at the end of the week after the family views it. The review’s detailed reasoning is not included in the available account.
TLDR: The Mississippi attorney general concluded that an officer’s use of force was justified in the shooting that killed one-year-old Kohen Wiley, and no charges will be filed. The state says the video will be officially released at the end of the week after Wiley’s family views it.
Verified body-camera and surveillance footage shows the moments before a Mississippi police officer fatally shot one-year-old Kohen Wiley. The video shows five officers running from a Walmart after being told that a suspected shoplifter was trying to drive away. They surround a silver sedan and repeatedly order its driver to stop. The driver moves forward and nearly hits an officer, and one officer then opens fire.
Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch announced that her office completed its review of the June 14 incident in Senatobia and found the officer’s use of force justified. No charges will be filed against that officer. That is the state’s official conclusion. The excerpt does not provide the review’s full reasoning or detail the standards applied, so the finding itself is the stated rationale available in the record.
The video offers a sequence of events, but it does not settle every disputed point. The footage was posted online by Darkhorse Press and has been verified, though CBS News said it had not independently obtained the video. The Mississippi Department of Public Safety says it plans to officially release the video at the end of the week, after Wiley’s family views it. Until then, the public account remains incomplete.
The footage shows officers responding to information that a shoplifter was attempting to leave. It does not establish that the people in the car committed shoplifting. Wiley’s mother and the woman driving, who was a friend of the mother, reject the accusation through their lawyer, Ben Crump. Neither woman has been charged with a crime, according to the excerpt.
Crump said the friend was driving while Wiley’s mother held the child in her lap. He also said the mother alleges she held Wiley up to show officers that a child was in the car and to stop them from shooting. That account is an allegation attributed to the family’s lawyer, not a fact independently established by the footage described in the excerpt. Wiley was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead, police said.
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation opened an investigation immediately and presented its findings to the attorney general. The attorney general’s office then completed its review and announced that the officer would not be charged. Those steps explain how the state reached its decision, but the excerpt does not provide the investigative report, the evidence submitted, or the review’s detailed conclusions. The absence of those details makes the promised release of the footage an important next part of the public record.
Wiley’s family and Crump called for the body-camera footage to be released after the no-charge decision. Crump questioned how the conclusion could be accepted while the family and public had not seen that footage, and urged the state to release it. CBS News said it contacted Crump to ask whether the family had viewed the video but had not received a response. The public release is therefore pending, and the family’s access to the video had not been confirmed in the excerpt.
Senatobia Mayor Greg Graves acknowledged the community’s pain after the shooting and said the city was committed to transparency throughout the investigation. The excerpt also reports Crump’s reference to the recent firing of the Senatobia police chief over alleged use of racial slurs. That allegation is separate from the shooting review and does not establish what happened in the parking lot. The available account does not state that the chief’s firing affected the attorney general’s decision.
The practical impact is direct and serious: Wiley, a one-year-old child, died; the officer will face no criminal charge under the attorney general’s decision; and the family and public are still waiting for the state’s official video release. The state has set no specific release date in the excerpt beyond the end of the week, and it says the family will view the video first. No fees, forms, or further compliance requirements are described. The family’s request for transparency remains unresolved until release occurs.
The next necessary step is the Mississippi Department of Public Safety’s promised release after the family views the footage. That release can add evidence to a case whose official review is complete but whose full reasoning is not presented here. The attorney general’s finding stands, while the video’s official publication and the public’s ability to examine it remain pending. Those steps will provide the next measure of transparency and oversight.
Ethan Blake serves as a Senior Correspondent for Just Right News, where he specializes in Longform Narrative and Public Understanding. In an era of rapid-fire headlines and fleeting soundbites, Ethan’s work stands as a testament to the power of deep-dive reporting and the importance of contextualizing the complex issues facing the nation today. His approach is rooted in the belief that the most profound truths are often found in the lived experiences of individuals rather than the abstract theories of distant policymakers.
Growing up in Providence, Rhode Island, Ethan developed an early appreciation for the historical and cultural threads that weave the American fabric together. Providence, a city defined by its industrial heritage and its blend of traditional neighborhoods, provided him with a front-row seat to the challenges and triumphs of the American working class. This upbringing instilled in him a respect for the “common sense” values of hard work, community loyalty, and the preservation of local institutions. He learned early on that behind every economic statistic or legislative debate, there are real families and neighborhoods navigating the consequences of change.
This foundational perspective is the driving force behind his signature feature series, “Lives Behind the Systems.” Through this series, Ethan explores the intersection of individual agency and institutional structure. Whether he is documenting the impact of federal land-use policies on rural families or examining how shifting educational standards affect local school boards, Ethan’s work prioritizes the human element. He seeks to uncover how large-scale systems—be they governmental, economic, or social—affect the daily lives of citizens, often advocating for a return to local control and personal responsibility.
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Through his meticulous research and narrative craftsmanship, Ethan Blake continues to bridge the gap between policy and the public. His work remains a vital resource for those who seek a deeper understanding of the systems that shape our world and the enduring spirit of the people who live within them.