"Unthinkable": Senatobia toddler shot by law enforcement laid to rest

The funeral was held about 20 minutes away in Pope, at Hosanna Family Worship Center on the afternoon of Saturday, June 27. More than a hundred people came to say goodbye to the toddler, many wearing blue for Wiley. 

After the service, a horse-drawn carriage carried his body away as mourners followed to the cemetery for his burial.

Wiley was buried at Mt. Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery in Enid, with his family expressing "heartfelt gratitude" in his obituary for prayers, encouragement and support from the community.

Wiley was shot on June 14 as police were responding to an alleged shoplifting call at the Walmart in Senatobia. Officers began pursuing Wiley, his mother and a family friend in their car in the parking lot. 

The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation claims the driver was headed toward officers, prompting one to fire at the vehicle, killing Wiley. Wiley's mother, Vellesiya Wiley, said the driver was not heading toward officers.

Memphis Action 5 News obtained documents that contained a report of the June 14 shooting and included Senatobia Police officer Hunter Foster as one of the officers involved. The report didn’t specifically state whether Foster was the officer who fired on the car. 

Public safety commissioner Sean Tindell previously said that criminal investigations of these kinds of incidents typically take six to nine months — a timeline that community members, attorneys and advocates say is too long. 

"Never any accountability, it's always excuses," said Shatoya House Wright, of Batesville. "I hate to say this, but it's just truth: when it's the other way around, it is immediate action." 

House Wright was at Wiley's funeral and a vigil in Sardis on Saturday, and grew up around Wiley's grandmother. 

"It's just like that's my family that that police officer killed," she said in Sardis. "It's just been like an outrage with the fact of the no accountability." 

"Not even an explanation; no transparency, no truth." 

While that investigation is ongoing, the community is continuing to call on state officials and Walmart to release video footage of the incident to clear up what actually happened that day. 

"Release the video, all body cam, dash cam video, store surveillance, audio and transcript of alleged 911 call, of [the] shoplifting call," said Marquell Bridges, a community organizer from Alabama who has coordinated many of the marches and protests for Wiley. 

"We're just demanding accountability, demanding justice: true justice would be Kohen still being here."

Bridges, along with House Wright, Wiley's family and other community members gathered in Sardis on Saturday evening for a vigil. While issues with city permitting prevented the event from being held in its entirety, candles were still laid out for Wiley. 

CanSandra Joyner traveled from DeSoto County to Sardis and while she doesn't know Wiley's family personally, she says his death is personal to her, with family of her own in Tate County.

She called the shooting "unthinkable" and says its important for the community to continue pushing for justice. 

"It's scary for our children, what they'll be experiencing if we don't get something done now," said Joyner. "It is scary to know what our children might be facing 10, 15 years from now."

With her was Peggy Forrest, who grew up in Senatobia. 

"About 20 years ago, Senatobia was a safe place, we were a five-star city," said Forrest. "In the past five years, they're targeting our children, and I don't understand why."

On Friday, a march was held in Senatobia, starting at the Walmart where Wiley was shot. Mississippi Today reports that about one hundred people marched on Friday morning, walking several miles through the city. 

A town hall was held Friday night as well, which Bridges called "powerful", saying that the community has been united throughout the past several days. 

"The energy was just love: love, support, unity, [that's] what has been throughout the protests, that's what has throughout the celebration of life," Bridges said at the vigil in Sardis. "That is what has been throughout the community; mad as hell, tired as hell, ready and willing to fight."

"But also, we're going to continue to live and thrive as a people and chase success and not let this steal our joy." 

In the meantime, civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the family, ordered an independent autopsy on Wiley's body. 

The hope is that examining the bullet wounds will show where the officer shot from — and whether he was shooting from an angle consistent with MBI's claim that the car was headed toward police. 

Preliminary results from the independent autopsy were expected earlier this week, though Van Turner, a Memphis civil rights attorney working with Crump to represent the family, said results may take several weeks.