While city leadership was responsible for Vanderford's removal, Bridges argued that they should have fired him when the report came out over a week ago. When the report initially came out, the mayor and aldermen met with Vanderford, but kept him in place.
"The Chief’s responses were sincere, and he will continue to serve the City with the confidence that was placed in him at the time that he was appointed as Chief," Mayor Greg Graves and aldermen wrote in a statement dated Aug. 26. "If the need for further review is necessary, the Mayor and Board of Alderman [sic] will do so promptly and transparently."
This recent incident is one of several that have raised concerns with official response to recent issues with city police, including putting the officer involved in the shooting on paid administrative leave.
"Every turn where they had the opportunity — the mayor and every...alderman — no matter their race, had the opportunity to stand firm, stand with the people and stand for justice and the things that people elected them to do, they chose not to," Bridges said.
The department has been largely unresponsive to calls for transparency from the community and has provided little information in response to requests from the media.
"There is a status quo situation there at the precinct where such behavior is looked over," said Van Turner, an attorney representing the Wiley family. "And obviously it's looked over because you have the chief exhibiting that type of behavior."
The officer involved in the shooting, Hunter Foster, has also been accused of making a racist remark toward a coworker, just days before the shooting.
Attorneys and community members are still pushing for the release of video footage of the shooting. The Department of Public Safety initially said review could take six to nine months, and evidence wouldn't be made public during that time.
"Removing this chief was the right decision, and the Senatobia Board of Aldermen deserves credit for acting. But it does not answer the question Kohen's family has been asking since June 14: what happened to their baby? A 1-year-old was shot and killed by an officer of this department, and nearly three months later his family still has not been allowed to see the footage," said Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney representing the family, in a statement.
"The racist language that cost Chief Vanderford his job is exactly why this family cannot simply be told to trust the process. [Mississippi Bureau of Investigations] has the footage. Release it, finish the investigation into Sgt. Foster, and give this family the facts they have been owed since the day Kohen died."
Attorneys say that lack of clarity, combined the new reports, make it difficult for the community more broadly to trust authorities.
"For the police department to allow this to fester, not release the video footage and it just strikes of them trying to cover things up, it just sends a bad message," said Turner. "Really, it aligns with what people are thinking anyway: there is just an air of racism that permeates throughout the force. That Caucasian police officers do not equitably and fairly treat Black citizens in Senatobia."
In a statement, Public Safety Commissioner Sean Tindell called Vanderford's language "unacceptable and inappropriate". Tindell's statement was written before Vanderford was fired, but he had originally called for his resignation if "these messages are authenticated".
“Those who have chosen to protect and serve are held to a high standard. The use of racial slurs and racist commentary is inconsistent with the professionalism, integrity, and standards of a law enforcement officer," Tindell said in a statement shared by his office.
