The police chief of Senatobia, Mississippi, where one-year-old Kohen Wiley was shot and killed by police in June, was fired Tuesday. Senatobia Police Chief Harold Vanderford submitted his resignation the same day, but the city's board of aldermen declined to accept it and instead voted unanimously to terminate his employment, according to the city clerk.
Vanderford's firing comes after reports surfaced alleging he used racist slurs in private text conversations with a colleague. The reports were published by The New York Times, Mississippi Today, and Verite News.
Kohen Wiley was fatally shot and another woman was wounded when a Senatobia police officer fired into a vehicle. The incident occurred as officers were responding to a shoplifting call at a Walmart. Kohen's mother, Vellesiya Wiley, has denied that she or her companion stole anything. No charges have been filed against them.
Kohen Wiley was Black, as is his mother. His death sparked anger in the small city, where tensions between Black residents and the police department have been elevated in recent years. Alderman Demetrius Garrett stated in a Facebook post that the Board has a responsibility to protect the integrity and trust of the Senatobia Police Department, adding that unity means standing together for what is right.
Previously, the city addressed the reporting about Vanderford, stating in an Aug. 25 release that he had answered questions from the mayor and board and would continue his role as police chief. National civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Kohen's family, called the chief's firing the "right decision." Crump stated that the racist language which led to Vanderford's job loss is precisely why the family cannot simply be told to trust the process. He called for the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations to release body camera footage of the June 14 shooting, demanding that the family be given the facts they have been owed since Kohen's death.
The Associated Press reached out to the Senatobia Police Department for comment.